


The Fire Lord's Flames

by zhenyilani



Series: The Secrets We Keep [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2019-09-01 05:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 129,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16758949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhenyilani/pseuds/zhenyilani
Summary: Just when the Fire Lord thinks she finally has some semblance of control, it all comes unraveling at the seams.





	1. The Summoning

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Sequel to _The Princess's Fire_ (but you shouldn't need to read that story to understand this), and _Lives Forgotten_ and _Earth and Air_ (all you need to know from that is Lin and Tenzin are married now and had six children together who are all older than the Pemzin kids AND Izumi is engaged to Lin's brother, Masaru). In fact, it may be more intriguing if you DON'T read the prequel. Anyways.... I hope you like this:)))

**175AG**

**In the Fire Nation Capital**

Tenzin and Lin landed Oogi in the forest just beyond the volcano that enclosed the Fire Nation Capital and Palace. It wasn't their first choice for entering the Fire Nation, but Fire Lord Izumi specifically asked that they fly under cloud cover and land somewhere hidden. As the newlyweds slid off of their sky bison, they were approached by a man dressed in crimson robes flanked by members of the Fire Lord's Imperial Guard.

"You must be the Airbending Master Tenzin and the Lady Lin Beifong," the man asked, approaching with his hands folded in front of him, bowing as he stopped.

"I am also an earth and metalbending master, but people only do seem to remember the 'lady part', nowadays" Lin sighed, mildly irked by the unintentional slight.

"Forgive me. It will not happen again Master Beifong. My name is Tadashi, and if you both will follow me, her Lordship, Izumi, is waiting," the guard said formally, leading them to a Satomobile nearby in the woods. They drove through several secret underground tunnels before reaching a garage beneath the palace.

"Last time I was here, Zumzu was getting married for the first time. I must have been no more than fourteen at the time," Lin mentioned to Tenzin.

"You were fourteen. I was there at the wedding too." Tenzin reminded her.

"After that, she always came to Republic City, and now I know why," Lin said as they made their way through massive, extravagant hallways on their way to the throne room.

"Why?" Tenzin asked.

"This place is… rather dull, to put it mildly," Lin replied noting the dark red walls and deep golden paneling throughout with occasional tapestries and wall murals of burning villages and other various conquests scattered through the halls.

They had to wait a few minutes for a meeting to adjourn and the council of Ministers to clear out before they could enter.

The throne room was a cavernous space with ceilings at least sixty feet high. Golden dragons were carved out of massive pillars that supported the ceiling on the sides of the carpet that led up to the throne.

"May I have the honor of presenting Master Tenzin of Air Temple Island and Master Lin Beifong of Republic City and Gaoling," Tadashi announced to Izumi.

Both Lin and Tenzin bowed per custom.

"Oh, stand up will you? That _really_ isn't necessary," the Fire Lord said impatiently from behind a wall of blue flames that nearly completely covered her from view. She stood above the wall of flames, extinguished them, and walked forward, dressed in the ceremonial robes that Lin knew she hated. "Captain Sheng," she called to an imperial guard member stationed by the door. "Will you please open the skylight? This place is depressing," the Fire Lord asked the guard.

"Yes, My Lord," the guard said running off.

"Lin!" Izumi exclaimed taking the metalbender's hands and kissing both cheeks before hugging. "Tenzin!" she added doing the same to the Air Nomad.

"How have you been, Izumi?" Tenzin asked.

"Not well, I'm guessing, judging by the annoyance in your voice and the fact that we had to arrive under cloud cover and land in the woods. Is war imminent or something?" Lin asked the Fire Lord with a good-natured smirk.

"No, at least… I hope not," Izumi said. "I just finished up with the Council of Ministers. I swear, they are the most unproductive bunch of people one could have in their advisory. It is like having to deal with a dozen Raikos!"

"Spirits, that sounds awful!" Tenzin exclaimed.

"Replace them," Lin suggested.

"Can't. My dear father made all of _those_ posts filled by national elections, so that the people can have the illusion that they have a say in Fire Nation politics. Not at all surprisingly, all of those 'elected' officials are simply old billionaires with good family names and parents with rather large amounts of influence in their respective regions and clusters of islands. All the ministers do is skew the information they're supposed to present to me in a futile attempt to convince me to make a decision in their best interests."

"So where then do you get reliable information on the current state of affairs in your nation?" Lin asked curiously.

"Directly from the people by way of _the Amber League_ ," Izumi replied mysteriously, as she led her friends from the now sunlit throne room after a section of the ceiling had been moved aside revealing a great skylight.

* * *

**Ember Island, Fire Nation**

"Welcome to Ember Island!" Ursa said, greeting the two sky bison on the beaches flanked by two imperial guards.

Pepper landed carrying Jinora, Jinkun, Xiaoyu, Meelo and Rohan, and Sam landed carrying Jiexue, Hungjian, Ikki, Huifan, and Kang.

"WHEEEEEEE!" Ikki screamed as she slid off the tail of Pepper on an air scooter followed by Kang.

"Thank you so much for receiving us, Ursa," Huifan said, hugging the princess.

"Thank YOU for coming. It does get awfully lonely here in the Fire Nation," Ursa said with a warm welcoming smile.

"Lonely? But don't you live at the castle filled with knights and knaves and cooks and maids and...?" Ikki asked the Fire Princess rapidly.

"Well, hopefully not knaves, and we don't really anoint knights per say, but we do have the Imperial Guard, but they're not all that friendly. The maids are kind enough, but for safety purposes, they're rotated often to make sure none of them have enough time to learn the Palace well enough to stage an infiltration. There is nobody my age. I very much prefer to be traveling, but mother worries for my safety. Given the choice, she would just send me here with an army of guards when she needs more privacy or when I need more space..."

"That doesn't sound at all romantic! Being a princess must suck!" Ikki said, disappointed.

"Well, life isn't a fairy tale, Ikki. You learned that first hand just a few months ago, didn't you?" Ursa asked the girl, making her sad as she remembered her own mother's fall from grace.

"Don't listen to Ursa," Jinora said, frowning at Ursa as she urged Ikki towards Hungjian and Kang who were already making sand castles in the beach.

"Hey, is it just me, or are there a bunch of creepy guys over on the cliffs watching us?" Huifan asked, pointing blindly up at the top of the surrounding rock faces.

Ursa looked up and shielded her eyes from the blazing sun. "They're not creepy. Two of them are high-ranking members of the Amber League. That one is Hiryur and that one is Genkei!" Ursa replied. "Hiryur is a firebender and one of my mother's personal servants, and Genkei is part-time handler and part-time adviser to Mother on all things that have to do with the Amber League.

"The Amber League?" Jiexue warily side eyeing the princess.

"Yeah. It's mom's secret police tasked with keeping her informed on the general public's needs, thoughts, opinions, and struggles so that she can make all of her decisions wisely," Ursa informed them.

"That sounds useful, but a bit invasive, don't you think? Doesn't she have elected officials from each region or island that can keep her informed of these things?" Jinkun inquired.

"She does, but she's found that their reports are falsified more often than not. All they ever do is attempt to force my mother to pass ridiculous proposals that will only fill their own pockets with gold. Nobody cares as much for the lives and well-being of the citizens of the Fire Nation as much as she does." Ursa explained.

"Okay, but you only named two guys. There is at least a half dozen up there," Huifan said, not liking the feeling of their gazes on her friend and her siblings.

"They must be either friends of Hiryur and Genkei or other agents. I don't know everybody in the League," Ursa said, waving for her future cousins to follow her to the Royal Family's vacation home on Ember Island.

"I can't believe we are going to get to see the Fire Lord's ACTUAL house!" Kang yelled, running up to the doors as two guards swung them open to reveal a large ballroom with a throne at the end and a portrait of Izumi, Hisoki and baby Iroh.

"WOAH! Is that your father?" Kang asked pointing at the stoic man standing next to Izumi with his arm around her small waist while she held the crowned prince.

"Yes. He was Hisoki Ibonara, a great man from the Yianxi province" Ursa said with her arms folded behind her back as she looked up at the man in the painting. "But he was kidnapped by insurgents when Iroh was three. Then twelve years later, he escaped and returned to the castle, only to be assassinated that evening before Iroh could even get back from the United Forces Academy and greet him," Ursa said sadly.

Huifan and Xiaoyu both studied the photograph intently.

"I don't like how his hand is holding her," Huifan said with finality, breaking the silence.

"What's wrong with it?" Ursa asked, peering closer at the photograph.

"See how the fabric on your mom's dress bends under his fingers? His hand isn't just placed there, it's gripping her," Huifan answered.

"Must just be the artist's interpretation of their pose," Ursa dismissed, walking away.

"It seems aggressive, like he has to remind her to smile," Xiaoyu whispered to Huifan.

"And the timing doesn't add up. Hisoki was killed before she was born, after being home a day," Huifan replied suspiciously.

"I can't believe we're actually in the FIRE LORD'S HOUSE!" Meelo yelled, chasing Kang around the various pillars on an air scooter, breaking Huifan and Xiaoyu's trains of thought.

"It is just a house, calm down!" Jinora yelled at him. "And we're supposed to be blending in while we're here, so shut up about being _so connected_ to the Fire Lord!"

"Oh, sorry," Meelo said coming off his air scooter as Kang crashed into him.

"Hey, this gold detailing is sooooo cool!" Hungjian said, examining the floor trim along the edge of the room.

"It's even more detailed in the palace. Come on guys. Let's go out to the courtyard. This place is depressing. The courtyard is much nicer, and brighter," Ursa said, motioning for them to follow.

"So Princess Ursa," Jinora asked the young woman.

"You know you can just call me Ursa... you used to just call me Ursa,"

"Ursa- what do you do in your free time?"

Ursa laughed. "What free time?"

"Well then if you don't have free time, what do you spend most of your time doing?" Jinora asked.

"Training. For a long while, I did nothing after dropping out of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls when I was ten. But as of now, it appears I will be my mother's successor, so we have resumed training. Iroh is rather dedicated to the United Forces right now and the Fire Nation typically prefers loyalists even after grandfather Zuko's extensive reform," Ursa explained.

"They don't think Iroh is loyal enough to rule the Fire Nation?"

"Nope."

"Why?" Jinora asked

"Because the loyalists aren't actually 'loyal'; they're racist bastards who don't really care for bettering the Fire Nation or advancing technology or international relations. All they want to see is the scorched earth that great-grandfather Ozai failed to create," Ursa said bitterly.

"So, what entails your training?" Jinora asked.

"Combat, reading, thinking, speaking, history, theology, philosophy, and staying up-to-date on all of the social and political affairs of all four nations."

"That must be fun!" Jinora said.

"It's rather boring, and sometimes it's just annoying." Ursa replied. "Reporters never do tell the full story. If you're lucky, all you get is a half-truth."

"To be honest, the half-truth is the only thing ever interesting to the common man." Jiexue admitted.

"I would think that a Princess would have access to the original reports, wouldn't she? Considering it is her job to stay updated on such things?" Xiaoyu asked.

"Yes, but the original reports on any given event are tens sometimes hundreds of pages long. It's so much! I don't know how my mother manages!" Ursa groaned miserably.

"With an Amber League apparently." Huifan muttered.

"Even with the Amber League, she's miserable! I am dreading the day I have to fill her shoes," Ursa thought aloud.

"Will you have to?" Huifan asked.

"Yeah, I don't get the impression that Aunt Zumi will want to force you into anything you don't want to do, especially something so… important." Jiexue added pensively.

"I don't have a choice! It is _just_ Iroh and me," Ursa responded.

"Do you think Iroh would accept the crown if you asked him to?"

"No, because we both know he wouldn't be able to hold it. We BOTH know that the loyalists will initiate an insurgency and possibly stage a coup."

"But do you even want the throne?"

"No." Ursa sighed. "But some say those who don't want power are the best ones to have it. They'll want to make their lives easy by minimizing protests and uprisings and appeasing the people."

* * *

**Fire Nation Royal Palace**

Lin and Tenzin sat on one crimson velvet upholstered couch, both with the same leg crossed over the other as they sipped their tea in one of the hundreds of reception rooms in the Royal Palace of the Fire Nation. Across from them, Masaru sat comfortably with his back nestled in the corner of the couch and his hand draped over one of the golden arms of it. He relaxed with his feet on the table and his cup of tea balanced perfectly on his chest. Beside him, Izumi sat perfectly straight with her legs crossed at the ankles, and still wearing her ceremonial robes from the meeting with the council of Ministers from all over the nation, when suddenly, they were interrupted.

"Fire Lord Izumi, Mr. Genkei Saitamaki is here to see you," the guard said peeking his head in.

"Send him in," Izumi replied clearly.

The servant bowed and opened the door completely for the handsome young man to enter.

Lin noticed Izumi always sit up a little straighter in the presence of any subordinates. Izumi motioned for the servant to close the door.

"Your report, Genkei?" she said giving him permission to speak.

"We have confirmed your suspicions, Fire Lord Izumi. Your daughter, Ursa, does not want the throne," Genkei replied.

Izumi set her tea cup on the table with a delicate hand. "I don't blame her in the least," the Fire Lord commented. "Thank you for the report, Genkei. You may retire for the rest of the evening. That will be all for today."

"Thank you, Fire Lord Izumi," Genkei said, bowing before backing out of the room.

"What was that about?" Lin asked once the man was gone.

"Ursa has not been enjoying her lessons, and I didn't want her to suffer the same fate I did being forced into this, so I thought it might be time to consider a different successor," Ursa said quietly.

"A different successor? Isn't Iroh-" Tenzin began to ask.

"Iroh is a general of the _highest_ rank of _the United Forces_ , an internationally-managed military force. The loyalists in the Fire Nation would _never_ fully accept him as their leader. By this point in time, they think he is just a pawn of the president of the council of the United Republic of Nations," Izumi explained.

"But, since we are getting married soon, we may have more options for successor," Masaru informed Lin and Tenzin with a confident smile.

"We have a son we intend to get legitimized, and if possible, named heir to the throne," Izumi revealed.

"A son?" Tenzin sputtered, choking on his tea.

"Wai-wai-wai-wait! Back up! YOU-" Lin stood and pointed at Masaru. "Had a child with my best friend, and you didn't even think to tell me?!" she yelled, the volume rising with each word she spoke.

"Several children, if we want to get into technicalities, but that's hardly relevant," Masaru replied shrugging lazily.

"Sev-several?!" Tenzin exclaimed.

"Why are you so shocked? You had a secret family too!" Izumi asked, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"We were happily married when they were born. We didn't make them _bastards-_ "

"We didn't have a choice!" Izumi yelled, her hair streaking blue. Lin flinched back. Masaru grabbed Izumi's wrist and pulled her to sit again, her hair quickly returning to its natural color.

"What was that?" Lin doing a double take of the top of the Fire Lord's head.

"Nothing." Izumi said taking a moment to breathe. "Look, Hisoki was gone, the Fire Sages were demanding a spare out of me, and I would not leave Iroh with no choice other than to be the Fire Lord succeeding me. I asked Masaru to have children with me so Iroh wouldn't live with the expectation that he would have to get married and have heirs and sit up on that throne daily. I did it, so my children could grow up free of obligation and pain and have a chance at being happy, unlike me! I never wanted to be Fire Lord, and I don't want to automatically throw the crown onto my first-born's shoulders! For TWELVE YEARS, Hisoki did not return. TWELVE YEARS! I had to do SOMETHING!"

"How many children do you have with Saru?" Lin asked.

"Five, six? I don't remember." Izumi said, rubbing her temples. "Takeo, Rikuto, Sasuke, Taemon, Tetsuya, Tatsuya, and Miyoko, so seven?

"But Taemon is adopted," Masaru corrected her.

"Yes, Taemon is adopted," Izumi confirmed.

"Do Ursa and Iroh know?" Lin asked pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Iroh knew Takeo, Rikuto and Sasuke when they were little. They lived and played together until Iroh left for his mandatory military training. He never met the twins or Yoko. As for Ursa, she's heard of Takeo during military briefings since he is a high ranking general in the FIRE Nation army and played with the twins when she was really young, but probably doesn't remember them and has never met the others."

"How did you manage to hide them with everything else that was going on?" Lin asked.

"They lived with Saru in plain sight, went to school and just... lived life. One joined the army. One became a fairly prominent lawyer... When they were children, I visited daily trying to not miss anything until they all grew up and moved away."

"You need to tell Ursa and Iroh!" Lin said.

"I know!" Izumi sighed.

"You need to tell them BEFORE the world knows. They have a right to know their family!" Lin yelled.

"I know! I just need help with HOW to tell them!"

"Well-" Lin started but couldn't finish. Who was she to give advice on such a delicate topic as succession, secret-half siblings, and just... secret keeping? As it was, she considered the successful blending of all her children with Tenzin and Pema's children a miracle, but the stakes for that were significantly lower than the future of an entire nation.

"Our kids sort of just found each other on their own, in a way," Tenzin offered to Izumi remembering how Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, and Opal took their old photograph directly to the Beifong estate to investigate.

"So what? Just summon them all to the palace and wait?" Izumi asked. "Let them wander through the corridors aimlessly?"

"It would be risky, but..." Tenzin began to say.

"Okay," Izumi shrugged.

"Wait! I REALLY don't think this is a good idea. Maybe go ahead and summon them, but also talk to Ursa and Iroh first and just confirm that neither of them wants to be your successor before carrying out the rest of that plan. It would be better for you to have that conversation with them directly than just sending spies who may have been paid off to provide you with false information. I don't ever remember Aunt Mai doing that with you," Lin suggested.

"You're right," Izumi sighed.

"I just don't want my future niece to feel like she's been stripped of something that is rightfully hers," Lin explained.

"Thank you both! For being here," Izumi said, hugging her old friends.

"TADASHI!" Izumi called in a servant. "Please summon all of my children."

"All of them?"

"ALL of them."

"Yes, my Lord."


	2. Collection

**Foggy Swamp, Earth Kingdom**

The messenger cursed under his breath as he fell into another deep mud patty, wondering however he came into the service of such a League. Their aim was to maintain stability in the Fire Nation, and that depended on maintaining the sanity of the all-powerful, autocratic Fire Lord. Sure, she was loving, accepting, incredibly progressive compared to her ancestors, and exactly what their beloved nation needed, but her children? Spirits, her children were crazy, and keeping track of them was a fool's errand.

Just then he was launched out of the mud patty and into a tree.

"Please tell me you're not another swamp bender!" the messenger begged from where he hung over the branch, exhausted, and covered up to his waist in two days worth of caked mud.

"It depends!" the cheerful lad said standing above him, on the branch, without pants or really anything covering his body. "Swamp bender doesn't specify earth or water, now does it? Just a bender… in the swamp…"

The messenger sighed and closed his eyes as he plunged his hand into his pocket and withdrew a letter and lifted it up to the man, averting his eyes.

The man lit up. "Sorry for bending you into the tree Rinuk!" the man said, jumping down from the branch and bending a platform of earth up to the messenger. "Just roll over! I'll help you down!"

 _I'd rather die, here, thanks_ , the messenger was tempted to say as he lazily rolled over. The man slowly bent the earthen pillar.

"Come on! I know you're tired, but you've found me now! I just need to get back to the cave to tell Grandma Toph I'm leaving, and probably get cleaned up at least a bit. I know mother would appreciate it greatly."

"Yes, she would," _and so would the rest of the world_. The messenger thought to himself.

"GRANDMA TOPH! Mother wants us home! Would you believe it?" Rikuto asked leaping over some gnarly roots, sliding down into the cave, still completely naked.

"Yeah, yeah! Just find some clothes before you go. Not everyone in the world is so fortunate to be blind like me!" the old, blind earthbender grumbled from where she sat on a tree stump in the lotus position with her unseeing eyes closed.

"I will!" the man replied. With a slide of his feet and flex of his strong arms, he bent every speck of mud and dirt from his body. He then walked over to his earthen bed where he pulled a lump of metal off of a shelf carved into the wall, and bent it into a razor, shaving his face. He then bent it into a metal comb and detangled the mane that surrounded his head.

"Airship leaves in sixteen minutes, Kuto!" the original metalbender yelled from her tree stump as the messenger waited.

"I know! I saw the letter!" the man replied.

Rikuto Lee lived on the border between animal and human. He was far too happy, and far too sparsely clothed to be considered a civilized human being, but at the same time, far too intelligent, and compassionate to be considered the animal that he heavily resembled in his natural state in the Swamp, thought the messenger as he watched the primitive transform into the likeliness of a Fire Nation Prince.

"And when you meet your cousin Huifan, ask her to spar with you. She's good, but not nearly as good as she thinks, so give her a good ass whooping for me. Beat humility into the girly!" Toph called.

Rikuto laughed as he stood and buttoned up a black vest over a green button up jacket. "Will do, Granny!" he said cheerfully.

The messenger was in awe. The man's hair was naturally straight when not left untamed for thirteen years and filled with swamp vines and leaves. Rikuto brushed his suit off one last time, grabbed a ribbon to tie his waist length hair on the go, and picked up photograph on his bedside table and glanced at it for a few moments. It was a photo was of him, his full-blood siblings and his parents. He had even cut out a picture of General Iroh an Princess Ursa and taped it to the frame on either side of the photo to complete the family. The earthbender shoved the photograph into his shoulder bag and then kicked a chest out of the ground where he had buried it for safety. He blew off the dust and opened it before pulling out a long and beautifully crafted blade belonging to the Fire Nation Royal Family, gifted to him from his grandfather, Fire Lord Zuko. It was his identifier in case anyone questioned his purpose on the United Forces base.

"EIGHT MINUTES, RIKUTO!" Toph yelled.

"I KNOW!" the man yelled back sheathing the blade before shoving it too into his bag and running towards the messenger.

"Bye Grandma Toph! I'll see you soon!" Rikuto said, waving.

"Yeah yeah, just go before I miss you!" Toph yelled irritably before returning to her meditation scowling.

Rikuto smiled and then turned to the messenger. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," the messenger grumbled miserably as Rikuto lifted him up by the mud that caked his body, and ran as fast as he could with the assistance of his earth bending all the way to the nearest United Forces Navy Base on Chin City.

The messenger's head spun as the man set him down again. Rikuto Lee earthbent the delirious messenger completely clean then turned to the gate keepers of the base. "My name is Rikuto Lee. General Takeo Lee of the Fire Nation's Twenty First Division of the Third Army should be expecting me," he said, with his hand ready on the hilt of his blade in case they needed proof of his identity.

"He is, thank you for arriving promptly," the gate keeper said opening the doors. "We've been informed the Fire Lord's summons were urgent and the airship leaves in a minute."

Rikuto practically danced inside laughing. "Urgent," Rikuto laughed in incredulously. " _Yep! That's her!"_ he thought, remembering his childhood in his father's house before deciding to travel the world and find himself. Urgent was no emergency; it simply meant that his mother missed himShe just wanted at least one of her babies home so she could squeeze them for as long as they allowed. Rikuto didn't mind it but always longed to return to the swamp where no one criticized him for keeping company with nothing but dirt.

"KUTO!" Takeo yelled, running over to his little brother. "The green suits you, brother!" the Fire Nation General said, embracing the man affectionately. The general of the Fire Nation Army, like the grand General of the United Forces, rebelliously wore his hair short against the tradition of the men of the Royal Family.

"KEYO!" Rikuto yelled back pounding his older brother on the back heartily. "Long time no see! Last time I read the papers, you were barely a sergeant. Now you're the General of a WHOLE DIVISION of the army!"

"Time flies, doesn't it, Brother?"

"It does," Rikuto agreed. "So much has happened since I've been gone!"

"You would not believe it," Takeo replied.

"General Takeo," a captain interrupted the reunion. "The airship is ready for your departure."

"That's us, brother," Rikuto said.

"Yep! Let's go get the twins! Sasuke is going separately, and Miyoko is still in the Capital," Takeo nodded, draping an arm over his brother's shoulders and leading him onto the gangway and into the Royal Fire Nation Airship.

* * *

**Seedy Earth Kingdom Tavern, Merchant Village**

The messenger entered the building under cloak, cursing under his breath about his assignment. He had to inform the twins of their mother's summoning.

One of them was easy to spot. Tetsuya Lee stood against a pillar with his arms folded across his chest, overdressed as always. He wore a deep crimson shirt with a perfectly tailored black jacket and pair of pants with a blood-red silk scarf. His long, slightly wavy black hair cascaded down his back with half of it up in a bun decorated with a flame. Not a single strand of hair was in front of his shoulders other than one chin-length lock of bangs that he let hang just left of his long pointed nose. He had his mother's sharp chin and narrow, orange-tangerine eyes. He never cared if he was being watched. He was confident-arrogant, really- in his ability to get away with anything.

Tonight was no different as he watched his twin brother, Tatsuya, fight it out with the bartender of this seedy establishment. The brother also kept his hair long per tradition of the royal family, but tied half of it up in a ponytail instead of a bun, and tied it of loosely with a black ribbon. He wore an oversized burgundy shirt that was barely secured by a pale yellow sash around his waist. Tatsuya swung another flaming punch at the bartender who drunkenly chucked two rocks in return, missing badly as the crowd of inebriates cheered. The messenger watched as the more aggressive twin smashed a bottle against an old oak table and thrust it down into the face of the bartender. Blood sprayed over the face and arm of the ponytailed firebender, yet the drunks took no notice. The messenger shook his head again. Then the younger twin then let go of the neck of the bottle. As the body of the bartender fell, he pressed his hand on the bartender's chest and electrocuted him for good measure to ensure he wouldn't waken the next morning.

 _Spirits, the Fire Lord would never believe me if I told her about the twins' illicit activities_ , the messenger thought as he approached the more responsible twin.

"Mr. Lee, your mother has issued a summon for you to return home immediately," the messenger said, bowing his head.

"Has she now?" Tetsuya asked, a wicked grin quickly filling his face.

As they left the tavern, a man slipped behind the bar and snatched up the young girl that was in charge of washing the cactus juice mugs and saluted the twins before darting out the back door.

* * *

**Leesuke Law Office, Shu Jing, Fire Nation**

The messenger entered the law office, not expecting too much difficulty based on the description of his first level classified mission. Then again, first level classified missions never really went according to plan. The messenger was about to walk straight back when an earthen slab rose in front of the door he intended to pass through.

"Do you have an appointment with Mr. Lee?" the emotionless yet dutiful secretary asked, not looking away from her appointment log book, which for that hour, was completely empty.

"I have a message to deliver directly from the Fire Lord," the messenger admitted, using his last card as a first resort after sensing he was not going to get through this secretary.

"Of course, and I am the Avatar," the secretary deadpanned.

The messenger sighed.

"Appointments with this lawyer must be made two months in advance," the secretary informed the messenger.

"But he is free today, right now, and the message is urgent!" the messenger insisted heading towards, the door. As soon as he lowered the earthen slab with his own bending, the secretary raised a hand flinging a dozen metal strips out of her sleeve, pinning him to the wall across the lobby. The messenger did an arch kick bending a pillar straight through the secretary's desk.

"What is all of this commotion? We just started a-" Sasuke bellowed charging out of his office his voice making up for his lack of bending when it came to intimidation and range. "Fenjing?" he asked looking at the member of the Amber League assigned to him by his mother.

"I must praise your secretary. She does her job of keeping walk-in visitors out extremely well," the messenger said with a heavy sigh of relief that he no longer had to fight this small but powerful earth and metalbending woman.

"Is everything alright with my family?"

"They're all alive if that is what you're asking," the messenger replied.

"Then why are you here?"

"Your mother wants you home immediately. She told is it was urgent but wouldn't elaborate on why."

"This is rather inconvenient, but since she is my mother, I am afraid I will have to oblige. Do you know how long she would like us to stay?" Sasuke asked the messenger.

"Not sure. My apologies sir, I will be sure to ask next time," the messenger said.

"No worries. I know Mother can be… difficult," Sasuke replied understandingly.

"Thank you, Sir. It is always a pleasure working with you. Now if you will, could you kindly ask your secretary to let me down?" the messenger asked.

"Of course. Yin," Sasuke turned to the secretary.

The small earthbender frowned and released the messenger from his restraints, and then turned her gaze to the destroyed desk with not even the slightest dismay. With a stomp of her foot, she reinforced it with an earthen table underneath, pulled up her chair, and continued her bookkeeping over the splintered wood.

* * *

**Xianxi Office Building, Ba Sing Se**

The messenger's orders were to get into the large office building undetected, and he almost succeeded, but the Dai Li knew the patterns of the operative of an organization so very much like their own and spotted him almost immediately. Fortunately, all of his training from the Dai Li, enabled him to escape his former comrades relatively easily without divulging his mission, which, though basic and relatively safe, was given with the instructions that it was a first level classified mission.

"Mr. Taemon Lee," the messenger said entering the man's office alone and closing the door behind him. "Your mother has summoned you to her side."

Taemon did not look up from the blueprints splayed across his desk. "My mother is dead, Unako" he stated bluntly. "Both my parents were killed by that combustion bender, P'li, a monster of his own making, when I was eight; have you forgotten, Boqi?" he elaborated as he slid a straight edge across the oversized page and added a line to the drawing.

"No sir! Forgive me!" the messenger said bowing, out of fear of the man sitting before him. "I meant to say the Fire Lord has summoned you to the palace. She has summoned all of her children to the palace."

"Why? I am no child anymore, nor have I ever been one of hers," the man replied with his cold gaze still focused on the floor plans on his desk.

"Yet she still holds you in the same regard, Sir. You grew up with her children," the messenger reminded the man.

"That I did," Taemon thought to himself, a small smile flashing across his angular face only for an instant before turning cold again. "Did she provide a reason for this summoning?" Taemon asked.

"No, Sir," the messenger gulped.

"Very well, let me pack a bag," Taemon said, standing up. He was a tall, medium built man with long black hair that he wore completely contained in a Fire Nation style bun completed with a golden flame symbolizing his allegiance. "I shall be ready to depart for the homeland in precisely seven minutes," Taemon informed to the messenger, his amber eyes boring into the messengers.

"Yes, Sir," the messenger said saluting before hastily taking leave to ready the airship for the return journey to the Fire Nation.

* * *

**Ranshao Rikai University, Fire Nation Capital**

The messenger should have considered himself lucky. His assignment didn't involve exposure to swamp apparitions, murderers, thieves, stubborn secretaries, or the Dai Li. He had clearance to walk right into the girl's dorm room and speak to her directly. However, he knew the youngest daughter of the Fire Lord was stubborn as the earth she couldn't bend. She would not likely heed the summoning forcing the messenger to return to the palace without the person he was sent to retrieve, in essence, failing his mission as a member of the Amber League.

The metalbender took a deep breath before metalbending the lock to the room open. Sure enough, his own sources were correct. The girl was not in class but back at her room, studying so they would have privacy to speak.

"Miss. Miyoko, your mother has summoned you to her side," the messenger informed the girl.

"Thank you for telling me, Rinjuk, but my mother can wait; I'm busy." the young woman replied, her focus solely on a project she was working on at her desk.

"But Miss…" the messenger said panicking slightly, taking a deep to regain his composure. "Miss, your mother is the Fire Lord! She can—"

"— shoot all the lightning she wants at me for not coming immediately, but she won't because she is still **_just_** my mother," Miyoko replied.

"But—"

"Tell her that I have an exam on Friday and simply cannot spare the time. If she comes herself, I might oblige, but even that is not a guarantee," Miyoko ordered.

The messenger sighed in defeat. The girl was a lost cause. "Yes Miss," he said obediently to the legendary "Bastard of Earthen Fire Refineries," leaving nervously, fearing the Fire Lord's reaction once he returned to the Royal Palace in the Capital of their great country.

* * *

**Ember Island, Fire Nation**

Hiryur walked out to the courtyard to find the Princess and the children of Lin and Tenzin all gathered around a box they had found while exploring one of the forbidden quarters of the Fire Lord's house on Ember Island. It was filled with photographs of their parents when they were young.

"They look sooooo CUTE together!"

"Look Ursa! It's your mom making out with Aunt Kya!" Jiexue said, looking at one photo.

"WHAT?" Ursa snatched up the photo. "Well what do you know? I guess the rumors are true. They _did_ have a fling."

"Princess Ursa," Hiryur said, stopping exactly five feet from the Princess. "I have a message from your mother. "She wants you all home."

Ursa thought for a moment, still with the incriminating photo of her mother in her hand. "Sweet. Hear that guys? Now I can show you what a REAL palace looks like!" Ursa said contently.

The packed up their belongings and a few souvenirs from Ember Island onto Sam and Pepper and flew to the Fire Nation Capital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iroh* - 41 years old  
> Takeo - 36  
> Rikuto - 34  
> Taemon** - 33  
> Sasuke - 32  
> Tetsuya - 29  
> Tatsuya - 29  
> Ursa* - 26  
> Miyoko - 18  
> * denotes the true-born children of Izumi and Hisoki  
> ** denotes adopted child
> 
> Also, Izumi and Masaru are both 61 years old. 
> 
> Have fun with a new wave of OCs. :)))))) (Iroh is canon. Izumi's Daughter is also canon, but we know nothing about her. The rest of these kiddos (who are all (except Miyoko) older than me, lol) are mine :D)
> 
> I hope you had fun meeting them (if you haven't read _The Princess's Fire_ ) (and seeing Toph again :))))


	3. Confrontations

**Royal Palace, Fire Nation Capital**

The children all assembled in the throne room with their various 'handlers.' The trough in front of the throne was void of any fire but the room still shone bright since the skylight had been opened.

While Tetsuya and Taemon leaned against a pillar, Tatsuya juggled a yo-yo he stole from a young Earth Kingdom boy on his travels. Across from them, Takeo and Sasuke were listening to Rikuto tell them of one of the wild adventures Grandma Toph had sent him on, including a fairly recent one to liberate a nearby village from some bandits.

"Isn't Aunt Su supposed to handle those things since she is kind of the Earth Queen now?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, but Aunt Su also has Ba Sing Se to patch up, a nation's infrastructure to rebuild, and a republic to single-handedly create thanks to the idiot Prince Wu," Rikuto replied.

"That douche is a disgrace to the name of royalty," Sasuke muttered.

"Ey! So am I most days, dear little brother!" Rikuto replied, playfully elbowing his stiff lawyer of a brother in the arm.

"You're not royalty, you're a bastard. We're all bastards. We can do what we want without repercussions and if that's living naked in a swamp, so be it. Nobody cares about us," Sasuke replied bluntly.

"That's not true! Mother cares about us!" Rikuto replied.

Takeo laughed while Sasuke smiled and rolled his eyes. "I suppose she does."

"Speaking of your mother, where is she?" Taemon asked with his arms folded, and a bored expression on his face.

"Right here, sorry," Izumi announced rushing into the throne room followed by Masaru, a half dozen guards and a member of the Amber League in civilian clothing at the front. "I got held up by the Minister of Foreign affairs. Great! You're all here- Wait! Where is Yoko?"

"I'm afraid your youngest has an exam this Friday and refused to come," her handler, Rinjuk said with a low bow.

"Spirits! Don't feel bad, Rinjuk. She is just such a stubborn girl," Izumi turned to Masaru. "She must have inherited that from your mother, Saru!" Izumi turned back to the children. "Well, now that you're all here, we just wanted to make an announcement. Not this Saturday, but next, your father and I will be getting married. We're tired of hiding our relationship in the shadows."

Sasuke and Takeo smiled. Rikuto clapped his hands. "That's wonderful!"

"But that is not the only thing. We've always intended to legitimize you all once I became Fire Lord but fate had other plans and we never got around it until now. I wanted to also inform you that your relationship to me will be announced at the end of the wedding, so that you have time to… prepare for whatever will come. Backlash is to be expected, but hopefully it will be mostly aimed at me. I know you did not choose to end up in such a precarious situation, but-"

"Mother, don't worry. We can handle it. We're not children anymore. And we all know how to navigate the our country," Takeo reassured Izumi reaching out to take her hands.

"I know, and I thank you," Izumi said squeezing his hands lightly.

"Wait, is there anything else happening, besides you getting married and us getting legitimized? Could we have come just for the wedding, Mother? And er… coronation or whatever is happening after? Forgive me, but I am currently in the middle of several rather important cases and was informed the matter was urgent," Sauke asked.

"Well, in a way it is still urgent. You can still work from here. We can set up an office. But I would also like for you to spend at least a little time getting to know your extended family. Everyone will be here soon and." Izumi added.

" _Everyone_?" Tatsuya asked glancing at Tetsuya.

"Like- Iroh and Ursa as well?" Rikuto asked.

"Well, we already know Iroh," Takeo said.

"Yes, _everyone_. Your father's side included. Cousins, aunts, uncles... Lin and Tenzin are already here, but they're exploring the capital at the moment and their children should be arriving with Ursa shortly from Ember Island. And, since your father's youngest sister Suyin is Earth Queen, and one of you will most likely be ruling the Fire Nation some day, I thought it could also be in your best interest to try to develop some sort of relationships with your cousins," Izumi added.

Taemon glanced at the twins.

"One of _us_ will be ruling?" Rikuto asked with confusion. "Not Iroh or Ursa?"

"It would appear that neither of them want the throne, and I will not be one to force them to take it," Izumi explained.

"So you don't want to force either of them to become fire lord but you want to force all of us to become legitimate royals?" Sasuke asked wondering why they got the choice but not him.

"What's wrong with becoming royal? It's not as much responsibility as—" Izumi asked.

"But what if some of us don't want the negative attention that will certainly result from being exposed as fruits of your extramarital affairs?" Sasuke asked. "Will you force that burden upon us to bear?"

Izumi turned to Masaru. She should have anticipated at least Sasuke's reluctance. The attention would certainly damage the law firm the lad had spent the last decade building.

"Why wouldn't you want to be legitimized?" Rikuto asked. "Are you really that ashamed of our parents for simply loving each other? Besides, what backlash could there be? The Fire Nation should be happy that their Fire Lord hasn't just been preaching, but practicing the act or spreading love and not war for decades! So what if they weren't married then? Hisoki was GONE and Mother was FREE!"

"So that is it then? We are reduced to symbols of her benevolence?" Sasuke asked, offended.

"No! That's not what I meant-" Rikuto protested.

"Sasuke, if you don't want to be acknowledged publicly as my son, then I won't acknowledge you, and I am sorry, I should have consulted you first. Just know that being a Fire Nation royal is not as bad as it used to be. The Fire Sages have no more influence over palace activities, and the duties of the family has changed," Izumi said.

"I'll consider my position. Is that all then, Mother?" Sasuke asked with mild impatience.

"For now," Izumi answered.

"In that case, I'm would like an office if that is possible, so I could resume my work," Sasuke asked.

"You can have anything," Izumi said. “The palace is your secondary home now." She turned to a guard who bowed and led Sasuke away to tell the appropriate person of his request.

"I'll head over to the base in the city and see if there's any way I could be of use there," Takeo informed his family.

"I'll be in the library," Tetsuya announced.

"I'll go to the sparring rooms or the old Agni Kai chamber and bring some guards to spar I find any brave enough to face me," Tatsuya added with a devious grin.

Izumi sighed. "You always did like fighting."

"I need to speak with Tetsu," Taemon said following the more subdued of the twins.

"I'll go... exploring. It's been so long since I have been home!" Rikuto said running off. "I wonder how much has changed!"

"Have fun, love," Izumi called after the last. She turned then to Masaru. "So what are you going to do then?"

"Like Sasuke, I have a company to run." Masaru said pecking Izumi quickly on the lips. "But don't worry. I took next week off."

"Did I fail miserably just now?"

"No, I think you did rather well, your hair didn't streak-"

"I mean with the children. I hope I didn't hurt them in any way?"

"Izumi, you're a mother. Nothing you do with your children will ever be 'right' but you can't help that. Nobody likes change, and this is a big thing. They just need time. Sasuke will come around, don't worry."

"I know he will, but now I'm more worried about Yoko."

"Riiiight… There's still Yoko…" Masaru sighed.

"The girl will hate me forever."

"She won't hate you. Just give her a choice in the matter. And be honest."

Izumi turned to one of the metalbending guards. "Tadashi, will you accompany me to the university? I need to speak with my stubborn daughter."

"My Lord, are you sure you want to do this? The University District probably wouldn't be very safe at the time being with the students constantly prote-Yes, My Lord," the guard said, following her.

* * *

**Ranshao Rikai University, Fire Nation Capital**

In the Satomobile ride over, Izumi took off her crown, stowed away her glasses, and put in contacts, a new invention that only the wealthy could really afford, and pulled on a cloak to cover her Fire Lord Robes. Walking across the campus to the student housing areas was easy. Students must have simply assumed she was a professor walking to class or something. Nobody gave her more than a glance as she passed.

Getting into the resident halls would have been a bit trickier had Izumi been alone, since they required a key that only residents of those particular building carried. That is where Tadashi came in handy. He was a metalbender, and could open the doors easily without melting off the entire mechanism.

They rode the lift to the top floor of the girls only building and walked to Miyoko's dorm room at the end of the hall. Tadashi opened the door, without knocking, and let the Fire Lord in, closing the door behind her.

Miyoko kept writing, ignoring her mother.

Izumi waited but received no response.

"You've defied the orders of the Fire Lord," Izumi stated after a long moment of silence.

"And yet I'm still breathing," the girl replied, unfazed.

"Miyoko, such an act of defiance could result in exile or death," Izumi warned.

Miyoko laughed. "Doesn't that sound remarkably like how the Great Uniter treated her citizens in the Earth Kingdom not too long ago?"

Izumi frowned and Miyoko finally turned away from her desk to face her mother.

"We learned about it in 'World History 99AG to Present', last Friday," she said with a smile.

"Maybe I was wrong for allowing you to attend university," Izumi mused as she sat down on her daughter's bed.

"You wouldn't have been able to stop me from coming. Grandfather Zuko made sure that no such totalitarian rule was possible after his ascension. People only obey you out of tradition, but it is not required... Tradition, and the fact that the royal family has dragons again. You've tried to establish a peaceful rule, and you've succeeded to an extent, but the people still fear you."

"Are you through being demeaning?" Izumi asked, looking down at her hands folded tidily over her knees.

"I suppose," Miyoko shrugged. "Why did you call for me, Mother?"

Even in the company of just her youngest daughter, the Fire Lord sat erect with no less than perfect posture. Decades of grueling conditioning made it nearly impossible for her to do otherwise. "I wanted you to meet your family. Your _whole_ family. And then... after the wedding... I was hoping to legitimize you and your siblings." Izumi said. "If it is something you're willing to consent to…" She paused, waiting patiently for a reaction. Yoko never raged, and to Izumi, that was the most dangerous type of girl since you couldn't predict her feelings.

"I won't," Miyoko said finally, turning back to her desk.

"Why?" Izumi found herself standing again. "You will become a Princess of the Fire Nation- times have changed! I won't make you marry! You would still have full reign over your life! You would be free from-"

"See, that's where you're wrong, mother," Miyoko interrupted her quietly.

"Elaborate please," Izumi asked.

"You _think_ that absolute power gives you freedom but it doesn't. It is the most restricting construct in the world. I've enjoyed being a bastard of a nobleman. I've enjoyed having nobody think I will amount to anything. The lack of expectations has been refreshing. I have found it is so much more satisfying to fight and triumph, and bring praise and admiration to my mysterious family than to have to constantly agonize over if any word that I've said or will say or action I have taken or will take will cause irreparable damage to my reputation, my dynasty, or my nation. I like not having that pressure or pain."

"You worry about causing irreparable damage to your dynasty? You forget Sozin, Azulon, Ozai, even Aunt Azula is part of that. You can cause no damage in your capacity, Yoko. Trust me."

"Then shame on the era that Grandfather Zuko has begun."

Izumi sighed. Yoko was right. Izumi had no freedom even with absolute power. Even around only family Izumi found herself agonizing over every choice of word and every decision. Her parents had instilled a sense of necessity for perfection in her because they had to set the standard for a family in the new Fire Nation after a century of war and bloodshed. They had to prove their worth. Izumi had been raised to sacrifice her own life and happiness for the better of the family and it hurt. "I had just hoped that you would have wanted—"

"Did _you_ really ever enjoy being a young royal?"

"No-"

"Then why would I?"

"I thought since I have made changes, like stripping the Fire Sages of all authority within the Palace and changing the requirements for the Princes and Princesses going forward, things will be better for you and—"

"While I do appreciate most of the progressive policies you've put through, it is still not enough. My reluctance is not meant to be a slight against you personally, Mother. I am happy for you and Father to be getting married but— I guess what I am trying to say is, I enjoy being _normal_. I don't need a title to know who I am. I am Miyoko, daughter of Fire Lord Izumi and the businessman Masaru Lee. I am a royal bastard, but I don't mind it because I know I was a comfort to my mother in some of her darkest times and in that way I serve my country. This new title you wish to bestow upon me is not necessary and would only bring about more inconveniences than benefits for the whole family."

Miyoko watched her mother. Izumi was crushed but wouldn't dare show it. Such emotions were simply evidence of weakness unfit for a Fire Lord. Miyoko got out of her seat and knelt before her mother and took her hands.

"I may protest your reign and I may disobey, even despise the Fire Lord, but I will never stop loving my mother," Miyoko said leaning on the Fire Lord's knees and placing her head in the woman's lap. Izumi tucked a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear and stroked her smooth, youthful cheek. "I love you and want to protect your reputation too."

"You're like your father was when were first dating. He wouldn't touch me even if I ordered him to for the sake of my own reputation. At this point, Yoko, I don't care for it anymore, honestly. I'm old and just want to just be with my family and be happy."

"I understand. But I also know your devotion to your nation is too great to allow such a thing to happen so smoothly."

After a long and peaceful pause, Izumi spoke again as she stroked her youngest child's head.

"Miyoko, after you graduate, or even before, would you like to become an informant for the Amber League?" Izumi asked.

Miyoko laughed, knowing the question would come eventually. Tetsuya had been quick to join the elite league. He did greatly enjoy spying on people and things and organizing and analyzing information. Miyoko was different. Though she loved organizing and analyzing information, and she loved people, she was not comfortable with prying as was sometimes necessary for informants of the Amber League. "I would be betraying my current affiliation. The Amber League is the public enemy number one for the Fire Students for Freedom and Equality."

"Then a classified informant? Nobody has to know Yoko. I only ask this because you are the **_only_** person in the entire Fire Nation who is **_always_** honest to me. You're the only one who can look me in the eye and tell me the truth about how you're feeling. You're right. Even my best men fear me. They always look at me like I would do something horrible to them if I didn't like what they say. Even though I was primarily trained by Aunt Azula in my youth, I'm not like her in any way!"

Miyoko laughed. "I've missed you, Mother," Miyoko said holding onto her mother's robes while she rubbed her hand in circles on the girl's back. "I always miss you," she added quietly, not wanting their time together to ever end.

"I've missed you even more, my little fire-breathing turtleduck," Izumi replied affectionately.

"I know as we grow older, we need you and Father less and less," Miyoko started, looking up at her mother. "But we still NEED you, Mother. Some random messenger with a private letter is not enough!"

"And I need you too. You're right, Yoko. You are an irreplaceable comfort to me and I've been so lost for days, weeks probably," Izumi said bending over her baby.

"I'll come Friday afternoon, after my last exam. I promise! Then it will be spring break, so I won't be skipping any classes to be with family," Miyoko said.

"Okay, my love. I appreciate it!" Izumi said, kissing her head.

After only a few more seconds of tenderness, Miyoko was standing again. "Okay, now. Fun is over! I need to figure out my position on... or just _a_ position on whatever the hell was happening between the Water Tribes four years ago right before the portals were opened and-,"

"I'm out!" Izumi said, playfully darting for the door.

"MOTHER!" Miyoko called with a smirk, furrowing her brows in amusement.

"You know my position on that entire theatrical performance-" Izumi said, pausing at the door to look back at her daughter.

"Yes, yes, we've heard 'it's all Korra's fault,'" Miyoko groaned with a smile.

Izumi walked back over to her daughter and cupped her face in her hands. "But just because I hate her doesn't mean you have to!"

"I know, I know. You remind me ALL THE TIME!" Miyoko groaned rolling her eyes.

"That's right!" Izumi said. "And that's why the Avatars in the past didn't even BEGIN training their second element until they were sixteen and could understand and appreciate what that amount of power and responsibility meant."

"Again! You're being restricting!"

"I'm sorry, my love. Don't forget to keep a more open mind than me!" Izumi yelled as she walked with her guard down the hall. Tadashi handed Izumi her lightweight traveling coat to cover her royal robes. She also debated letting her hair down as well as they exited the dormitories.

Izumi liked walking around the university on the rare occasions that she visited. It was such an interesting place. It was diverse, but also dangerous. The university was the home of so many protests and uprisings. Riots were practically weekly. Some riots were between fans of different sports teams, some were between different factions of students high on cactus juice, and some were between law enforcement and the political opposition.

"Did you see Varrick's new mover?" One student asked a friend.

"OMG, yes! Nuktuk is SOOOO hot!" the friend declared amiably. "Just a photograph of him could keep me warm in the North Pole!"

Izumi laughed quietly to herself at the sound of that.

"Did you hear Professor Jojo is FINALLY retiring?" another student asked a little ways away.

"Flameo! I swear that guy is older than Avatar Kyoshi when she died!"

"Good riddance! His lectures bored me to death!"

"I once tripped the fire alarm with my bending just to save everyone from another one of his horrible speeches!"

"Nice one!"

Izumi smiled. Their attitude to the old timer reminded her so much about how she felt during her lessons with Della as a child. She was surprised she never thought of tripping the fire alarms, or the intruder alarms, or even just tripped Della on her way to whack Izumi again for showing any imperfections. The woman was very near a thousand years old and could barely see and made Izumi read every history and dictate detailed descriptions of everything she was doing to ensure maximum retention. It was dreadfully boring. Only then, Izumi didn't have anyone to vent her frustration to like these students. She had Saru in the palace, but he couldn't really relate to living with her expectations, and she had Kya overseas, but they always preferred talking about much more pleasant things when they were together.

"Finally! The _League_ has accepted me! I'm going to learn earthbending at the new facility!" a student said to his friend.

"Earthbending? But you're a firebender!" the friend replied.

"But I took a test and have the _potential_ to _cross-over_!" the first student replied.

"In that case, congratulations!" the friend said clapping his buddy on the back.

 _Interesting._ Izumi didn't think such a thing was possible, but it wouldn't hurt to let the kids dream, even if it were about something so impossible as dual bending.

"The Fire Lord won't stand a chance against us once everyone becomes a master," the student said to his buddy.

At that, Izumi froze in her place.

"My Lord," Tadashi whispered. "We need to get you back to the palace. The University is not safe for you to be wandering-"

"I need to know what this kid is up to!"

"We can send scouts after him once you're back to the Palace _safely_!"

"You don't understand! He could be gone- en route to this- academy by the time we get men out here! I can't take that chance!" Izumi decide, turning on the boys.

"My Lord," Tadashi said attempting to hold her back. Izumi raised the only sharp metal thing she had on her as hard as she could in the direction of the whispering student, pinning both of his wrists to the stone statue he stood under with the single object.

The student gasped and dropped his paper, looking wide-eyed at what fixed him to the statue. It was… a crown… THE CROWN of the FIRE LORD! The student looked up at the direction from which it came to see the Fire Lord herself with her hood down, striding towards him.

"Please! Fire Lord Izumi! It is not at all what it seems!" the boy cried, disintegrating into a blithering mess by the time she was within arms length of him. His friend nervously looking between them wondering if it would be worth it to try to flee the confrontation.

Izumi bent down and picked the letter up off the ground, reading it in its entirety in only a few seconds. She pulled her crown out of his sleeves and returned the letter. "I am going to ask you one question, Keji Takama," Izumi said. "And I want you to answer me with complete honesty."

"Are you going to kill me?" the boy asked visibly trembling.

Izumi rolled her eyes. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already," she replied with frustration. "I am not Sozin. I am not Azulon or Ozai. I am not even Zuko. I am Izumi, yet everyone seems to still forget that. I want to know and understand why you so desperately want or need that has you thinking that training such an impossible thing and trying to overthrow me could possible be something worth pursuing."

"I- uh…" the student stuttered.

"Let me help you," Izumi offered. "Is your family alive?"

"Yes."

"Are they starving?"

"No."

"Are you starving?"

"No."

"Do you have siblings?"

"Yes."

"Do they have a place to sleep at night? A home with heating and lockable windows and a roof that doesn't leak?"

"Yes."

"Can they still produce laughter and tears? They are still capable of feeling?"

"Yes."

"Have you or any of them been drafted into my army?"

"No."

"Then tell me what else it is that you want so I can grant it and satisfy whatever other needs you have," Izumi ordered.

"You're serious, My Lord?" Tadashi asked nervously.

"Question my judgement one more time and you'll be demoted to messenger, Tadashi," Izumi threatened.

"I want freedom, My Lord! TRUE FREEDOM!" Keji cried.

Izumi looked down at his feet and raised a brow. "I see no chains around your ankles and wrists," She said waving to his loose limbs. "I took this back," she said raising the crown for him and his friend to see shining in the sunlight. "You choose what you eat, what you study. You choose to join secret organizations that are plotting against me. What more is needed to prove your freedom. I am genuinely interested and am begging you to speak freely."

The boy seemed genuinely petrified for some strange reason.

"My Lord, a crowd is beginning to gather," Tadashi warned Izumi.

"Let them," Izumi ordered. "Maybe one of them will have enough courage to answer my question. In what way are you lacking freedom?" She asked the growing crowd. "If you do indeed feel the same way." There was no response. She turned to the boy.

"If I promise to burn the image of this letter from my mind, burn the memory of your spoken words about me 'not standing a chance' against whatever this is, and pardon you for your treasonous actions, will you be brave able to answer my question freely knowing that your life, as you know it, is perfectly safe?" Izumi asked.

The boy said nothing.

"Tadashi, would you mind making a chair for me?" Izumi asked her guard. "I would like to wait for the boy."

Her guard earthbend a block out of the ground and she sat, resting her chin on her knee.

"We will wait until your next class starts."

"I—"

"Tadashi, will you go ask Yoko why her classmates are so frightened of me?"

"And leave you here, alone?"

"Do you take me for being weak?" Izumi asked turning away.

"No, My Lord," her guard said quickly pushing himself through the crowd and sprinting back to the dormitory.

Izumi waited with her legs folded and her hands closed over her crown on her knee. She wasn't wearing it.

 _What did the students want?_ She thought. _What was this League? Just League? And this academy this student was so excited to attend? He was at the most prestigious institute in the Fire Nation. Why would he want to transfer anywhere else? What was he lacking?_

The students were just staring.

"Daddy, I can't see!" a tiny voice said. A man put his child on his shoulder and the little girl gasped.

"Fire lord Izumi!" the child shrieked wiggling out of her father's hands running through legs to get to her.

"Shoko! Don't—" the man yelled fearing the consequences of disrespecting the sovereign of their country. The child practically leapt into Izumi's arms. Izumi caught her.

"It's true!" the little girl squealed kneeling on Izumi's lap, looking up at her face with wide, innocent eyes.

Izumi laughed. "What's true?"

"You have glasses too!" the girl said indicating the ones on her own face.

"How can you tell? She's not wearing them!" a student asked.

The little girl peeled Izumi's eyelid up. "I can see the new jelly thingy that replaces glasses!" the child answered while her father chewed on his teeth anxiously.

"Yes. You are correct, and very observant," Izumi replied removing the child's hand from her face.

"How old were you when you got them?" the girl asked.

"Forty-"

The girl gasped. "Does this mean I am forty now? Does it mean I've aged faster? Will I die young too?"

"No no no no! Everybody's eyesight is different, just how everybody's height and weight is different. Everybody's hair color…. Etcetera. There is nothing wrong with needing glasses."

"But glasses are different. Nobody else in my nursery group has glasses!"

"Everybody is different. But it is our differences that make us the same. We all have differences and insecurities and can relate to one another because of it." Izumi said.

The child's mind seemed blown.

"Shoko! Please get off the Fire Lord's lap,"

"But she's warm! Like Mommy!" the child said wrapping her hands around the Fire Lord's neck. Izumi looked down at the girl with uncertainty.

"You're not supposed to touch the Fire Lord," the father said to the child.

"Says who?" the child asked defiantly clinging to Izumi.

Izumi looked up at the father too, genuinely curious. She never read such a thing in her etiquette manual when she was a princess in training. This incident was the most interaction she'd had in a while with commoners and found it all rather intriguing.

"Says— says—"

"Says tradition only," Izumi answered softly. The child slid off and looked at her.

"Oh. I'm sorry," The girl said bowing respectfully. Izumi reached out and put her hands on the child's shoulders and stood up. The girl looked up in awe.

"Don't apologize, Shoko. A tradition is not a law. Times change. The old Fire Lords before my father may have viewed your proximity as a threat. They may have even hurt you after hearing about the incident,but I am not like them, Shoko. I am not afraid of a child who simply became excited about finding someone else who shared a need to wear glasses every day. We are equals. It may not seem like it but we are all connected as one flesh and bone all living and breathing together."

"Really?"

"Mhm," Izumi said.

The girl turned to her father positively beaming again.

"Do not think this a victory, Fire Lord Izumi," a booming voice demanded behind Izumi. The Fire Lord spun on her earthen stool to come face to face with what appeared to be an upperclassmen around Ursa's age. Beside him, Miyoko stood glaring. Izumi pretended to not recognize her for her safety. "You may be able to win the heart of a child with ease, but we are not so naive."

"And who are you?" Izumi asked.

"My name is Ikta Soren. I am president of the Fire Students for Freedom National Organization and a graduate student of political science and—"

"Politics isn't a science. It is a philosophy."

"That is not true-"

"Science is logical and predictable. There are basic laws that explain and dictate everything in the field. Politics is more like a flame," Izumi said lifting her hand and showing them blue fire. "It is dynamic but can also be wild, volatile, frightening, dangerous, and can also change and be tamed."

"We didn't come to hear your thoughts on the university's probably faulty naming convention for the degrees it issues. We came to voice our opinions on your reign."

"That's wonderful! I am genuinely excited to hear. I would love to know why you are so dissatisfied that you feel the need to **_warp_** information you put on your posters so badly that even my own informants censor their reports to me," Izumi sighed.

"We want your informants gone. We want to end the Amber League."

"Why?"

"So we don't want to have to censor ourselves when we're out having tea. We want to be able to speak clearly anywhere in our Nation."

"Then speak clearly. I don't understand why you are under the impression that with the Amber League existing, you can't. If you've done nothing wrong, what have you to hide. Say whatever you want! Honestly. The Amber League doesn't have time nor resources to bother themselves with a bunch of students' small talk over tea. It does care which regions are still starving, why there are more orphans on one island and not another, if the children of a certain region are not receiving the education they need, if women feel safe walking home in the evenings and other issues of much greater importance than which professor you think is boring... You seem to overestimate your individual importance to this my secret police, Ikta Soren."

"That's where you're wrong. This is not simply a matter of whether or not the Amber League has good intentions in our society. It is a matter of how it uses its intentions to justify inappropriately prying into the lives of the common man and invading one's privacy."

"Privacy?" Izumi laughed. "What do you possibly know of privacy that could lead you to believe that something as mundane as eavesdropping over a teaside conversation qualifies as being prying? Nothing. You don't know the definition in invading. Tell me, Ikta? What do you think it's like to bleed for the first time and be told you could NEVER play with your two best friends unsupervised ever again? What do you think it's like to not be allowed to go to the bathroom unaccompanied. What do you think it's like to have the conception of your first child to be SUPERVISED by all five Fire Sages and both yours and your spouse's parents to ensure the conceived child's legitimacy? Don't dare lecture me about privacy. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me while I'm here?"

"Make love not war."

"When have I sent you to war?" Izumi asked.

"Your great great grandfather-"

Izumi exhaled fire. "—has been dead for over a century. He is not me. Now, I could have drafted you all to put an end to Kuvira's tyrannical reign over the Earth Kingdom but the Amber League informed me such an action would have been against your wishes. You like many wanted to abandon the Earth Kingdom in such a time of need. While I wanted to intervene, I took into consideration your opinion and adjusted my own position accordingly. My father and I have kept the Fire Nation out of war for three quarters of a century now. What else do you need?"

The man said nothing.

"Is there anything else anyone would like to share with me or ask of me?" Izumi asked turning her attention to the silent crowd?"

One student timidly raised her hand.

"Is it true you're remarrying next Saturday?" the female student asked.

 _I wonder where she heard that bit of gossip?_ "Yes. And I hope you will all be as accepting of my choices as you expect me to be of yours," Izumi added turning back the student with the letter from some League hellbent on overthrowing her, and then to the upper class man who headed the Fire Students for Freedom National Organization.

"My lord," Tadashi said offering his hand. She took it and stood, picking up the front of her robes with her crown still in her hand. Tadashi lowered the earthen stool and then they hurried away to their Satomobile.


	4. Bridges we Burn

**The Parlor**

Izumi came back to find her fiancé, his sister and her best friend, and brother-in-law waiting for her.

"Nice show today, Zumzu," Lin muttered sarcastically with an afternoon issue paper in her hand.

 _Since when did information travel so quickly?_ Izumi thought to herself undoing her topknot and running her fingers through her graying hair.

"Not how I would have announced our wedding," Masaru commented.

"Well sorry. I didn't really have a choice. I was asked a direct question and couldn't lie," Izumi replied, passing them.

"What happened to all that training Azula gave you back into the day specifically to teach you to lie?" Masaru asked, following her.

"It's GONE, okay?!" she yelled whirling on him. He stepped back with his arms up in surrender.

"Izumi, maybe you're not in a state where you should be engaging with the public or making decisions right now," Lin suggested.

"I'll decide that!" Izumi yelled storming off.

Lin followed suit. "Zumi listen up! I don't care if you're the fucking Fire Lord or not. You are my friend and will be my sister soon and I simply cannot not allow you to let your grip on yourself to spiral out of control."

* * *

**In the Bath**

When Masaru returned to the room that night, none of the candles in the chandelier or the torches on the wall were lit. _Where is she?_ He thought of his fiancée. Then he saw blue light emanating through the crack under the door to the bathroom. Fire. HER fire. Masaru threw the door open to find Izumi in the bathtub. She gasped when she heard the intrusion and a half dozen or so flaming dragons woke from their slumber and snarled at him.

"It's alright, guys! Saru won't hurt me, you know that," Izumi said to the flaming creatures. The dragons went back down.

"Izumi, I thought we agreed that you weren't going to let your inner fire come out. It's too dangerous!"

"Actually, I've been doing some reading here and in the spirit world, and I learned that it isn't. It actually feels nice to let out sometimes. It is pent up energy. I've discovered several dragons inside of me. That one's Fear," she said pointing at the largest dragon curled up and partially hanging over the edge of a shelf by some gnarly looking candles that looked like they had been mauled by the heat radiating from the dragon for a while now. "That one's Hunger..." she said pointing at the small one on the chair sitting on her clothes. "that one's Hurt, she said pointing another rather large dragon on the bath rug. "that one is the mommy..." she added pointing at a medium sized dragon by the second. "that one's Heart," she said pointing at another rather large dragon that was curled around the bathtub and acting as a headrest and matching her blazing blue hair, "there should also be Happiness but he has been missing as of late. I think Fear and Hurt have been stealing his food," Izumi said pensively as if these fiery dragons were her pets and she were worried about them.

"Izumi, your inner fire... it's not actually firebending is it?" Masaru asked.

Izumi turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Izumi replied..

"You don't have to move to move them. They're not actually fire. They're your energy. They're you, Izumi. And you've been letting Fear and Hurt consume your energy."

Fear and Hurt both started glowing and growling at Masaru as Izumi considered his words, her own brows furrowing.

"You could be right," she said finally and both Fear and Hurt subsided.

Masaru put his hand on the back of the chair and looked down at the scrawny little thing Izumi called Hunger. "May I sit?" he asked.

Hunger eyed him wearily then slid off the chair and made his way into the bathtub and floated on his back in the water in front of Izumi, warming the water, but not extinguishing.

"What are your greatest fears, Masaru?" Izumi asked looking over at him.

"Greatest fears?" He thought looking at her. "Is seeing your Hurt and Fear becoming too much for you to bear, and it consuming you," Masaru said pointing at the two largest dragons.

"Have you ever tried releasing your inner fire?" Izumi asked.

"I don't know. I'm not really sure what that means or what exactly I'm looking for."

"I think I understand it now. I can try to walk you through," Izumi said with her eyes closed and her head leaning against Heart's body.

"Alright," Masaru said getting comfortable on the chair.

"First, it is not something you look for… it is just something you… feel," Izumi said. "Close your eyes now. Use all of your senses to search inside yourself for something that you're not sure you can handle."

"Can you be a little more descriptive?"

"Truth, Saru. Search for truth."

"Truth?"

"What you are, Masaru, as a man, as a bender, as a father...as a son."

_"Saru! No!" a vaguely familiar voice screamed. Saru turned and he saw a woman with long bangs hanging down in her face, unseeing eyes gazing blankly, but arms reaching for him as he walked forward, into fire._

_"Mama-" baby Saru said looking down at his hands._

_"Look!" He pointed two open palms at the woman and saw red and orange cloud his vision. And he heard screaming._

_"TOPH!" an even more distant voice yelled coming closer._

_"He burned me!" the woman cried clutching her hands to her chest._

_"The little monster burned me!"_

_"He's not a monster, he's our son. And he just needs a teacher, that's all. Nothing to worry about. We're all new at this thing. Cut him some slack," the man said as he dipped his wife's hands under the tap and fetched ice from the ice box._

_"Mama?" Baby Saru asked waddling up to her side._

_The woman turned to him again and beckoned small stones to her hand. She took one of baby Saru's hands and covered it in rock then did the same with the other._

_"For all of our safety," she said kissing him on the head and walking away._

_The man frowned. "Take this and go pick your toes or something," he said handing her a bag of ice. He then picked up baby Saru and adjusted the glasses on his face. "Come on, Saru. Let's free you of these bindings, shall we? Don't worry about Mommy. She's had a— difficult history with fire and… well… seeing it— not seeing it, but feeling it, brings back some painful memories. You're not a monster. You're just… learning. The solution is not to muzzle you but to give you a distraction until we can find a teacher, eh? How would you like that?" the man asked, getting a chisel and a mallet to gently jack away at his firebending son's earth gauntlets. "How do you like drawing?" He asked showing the boy some designs for a new matching._

_Baby Saru shrugged and moments later heard his father screaming!_

_"SARU NO! You're destroying the blueprints— you're destroying everything!" the man yelled. Baby Saru looked down at where his hand was resting on the desk. In thinking about the events earlier that day, he had begun subconsciously bending again, years of his father's work gone in seconds because of his uncontrolled flame._

_"If only he were an earthbender!" the woman yelled at her husband that night._

_"Well face it! He's not an earthbender, but he's still our son and we still need to find him a teacher."_

_"But I don't want just any teacher. I want him to be the best at what he does!" the mother replied._

_"He can change masters later to become the best, but in the meantime we need to work with what we've got. We can't keep waiting!" the man yelled._

_"I thought you were going to 'distract' him from firebending!"_

_"He has no interest in arithmetic and drawing!"_

_"Not my problem!"_

_"Toph!"_

_Baby Saru ran. He ran as fast as his tiny feet could carry him into the village to some merchant closing his shop for the night._

_"Do you know how to write?"_

_"Yes," the merchant replied_

_"I need you to write a letter for me."_

_"I guess I could help."_

_"Great!"_

_Saru sat down with the merchant in his stand._

_"Dear Dad and Mom…"_

_The merchant wrote._

_"I'm leaving. Love, Saru—,"_

_"Wait! Kid! I can't write something like this!"_

_"But you said you'd help!" Baby Saru yelled feeling slighted._

_"But I ain't helping you run away!"_

_Baby Saru became angry. SOOOOOO angry! He turned and punched the wall, blasting fire from his tiny fist and setting the place ablaze._

_"Kid! What are you doing?"_

_"I told you! I need to leave! I'm dangerous and need to find a teacher to control this thing! Help me!" Baby Saru begged._

_The merchant finished the short letter and handed it back to the boy._

_"Thank you!" Baby Saru said flying out the door, extinguishing the flames as he left leaving black burn marks on the walls._

_He placed the note on his bed and dipped his hand in ink and stamped it and fled._

_Masaru slowed his breathing. He could feel his temperature going up and wondered if it was working._

_Baby Saru looked up at the signs. Domestic. International. He would find no fire in the Earth, he thought so he went to international._

_UNITED REPUBLIC_

_SOUTHERN WATER TRIBE_

_NORTHERN WATER TRIBE_

_FIRE NATION_

_"Bingo!" Baby Saru thought racing over to the Fire nation terminal, sneaking onto the ship by hiding between people's legs and luggage._

_"Someone in the Fire nation must be able to teach me firebending! Then I won't hurt Mom..._

"Saru!" Izumi exclaimed. Masaru opened his eyes. And saw a little red dragon at his feet peering up at him, ready to make friends... or... enemies? Masaru couldn't tell, but the dragon looked angry. The little red dragon took in its surroundings then multiplied into five. Fear was small, Hunger, a waif like thing, Father not as large as Masaru thought it should be, then no, Hurt was not a fitting name. Regret, Saru decided to call it. Regret was surprisingly large. It came up to his knee and looked to be about twelve feet long. Heart seemed missing, as well as happiness.

"Saru, behind you," Izumi said sitting up in the bath.

Masaru turned. Coming up to his waist and wrapping around the chair stood Heart. Saru recognized him by his warm and peaceful face. But behind him, something bigger and redder.

"You're not Happiness," Masaru said looking up at the largest of both of their dragons nearly filling the room.

It was Anger, and Anger was getting bigger.

"Saru! Saru what's happening?" Izumi asked standing up with her hands open in a defensive position as Saru's Anger locked its sight on her with its menacing teeth bared, and its nostrils flaring. As Masaru's Anger grew bigger, so did Izumi's Fear.

"Don't touch her," Masaru yelled jumping between them, shielding her naked body from Anger.

Anger leapt towards them both. They closed their eyes but felt no fire. Instead they heard screeching and turned as Masaru's Anger attacked Izumi's Fear. They watched in awe as the flames tumbled off the shelf, knocking candles into the bath and splashing water onto the floor as they fought each other.

"Make it stop!" Izumi screamed, hiding her face in Masaru's chest. Just then, Hurt, Izumi's blue dragon on the rug joined the fight, nipping and tearing at Masaru's anger.

"Maybe... maybe not," Masaru thought as he looked at the three dragons fighting. He put a hand on Izumi's back. Her muscles were starting to loosen as the fight continued. Her shoulders relaxed and her face smoothed. He felt her heart steady then finally, an exhale of relief.

Masaru's anger turned to face him and stepped aside revealing Izumi's Fear and Hurt had been reduced to nothing more than candle flames. Anger shrunk down to the size of a tea cup and flew up to Masaru's shoulder and blinked at Izumi. Izumi sensed its change in energy, uncovered her face, and looked up at the tiny dragon. "You— you were fighting for me?" she asked, reaching a hand out to the small red flaming dragon.

It jumped onto her palm and bowed its head to her.

"How are you feeling?" Masaru asked combing his fingers through Izumi's blue hair.

"Lighter,," Izumi replied reaching up to touch his red. "As if a massive load has been lifted off my shoulders."

"I'm glad," Masaru said holding her, looking around at her blue dragons snuggled up against Masaru's red ones. There was the creaking of a door behind them. The linen closet slid open and a tiny blue dragon came out. Izumi stepped out of the tub and rushed to greet it, a warm smile on her face.

"Hey Happiness, how are you doing? Long time, no see, little miss," Izumi asked with a smile as she picked it up in her hand, stroking its flaming head with her index finger.

"How can we feed you?" Masaru asked, walking up beside Izumi and wrapping his arms tightly around her bare waist from behind.

Izumi leaned into him and the happiness glowed and grew slightly in her hands.

"You know, I never will get used to you having blue hair," he said, pushing the wet blue streaks away from her face.

"Nor will I become used to seeing your red," she replied, turning in his arms to touch his.

He turned to the mirror and laughed before turning back to her and coming down on her lips. "To quote your aunt: together, we will be the most powerful couple in the world. We will DOMINATE THE EARTH!" Masaru said lighting his hands on fire blowing back his red hair.

Izumi laughed. "But we wouldn't, would we?"

"Nah!" Masaru said waving away the thought and taking her in his arms again. "At least I wouldn't. I don't need the world under me to be happy, only you," he said, gently peeling her lower lip down to give himself access to the inside of her mouth. "How power-hungry are you, Zumi?"

"Not at all," Izumi replied untying his shirt and then belt.

He lifted her up and stepped between her legs eliciting a gasp. All of their dragons glowed and slowly backed away from the couple. Saru's Anger turned to Happiness and Izumi's Happiness grew a little bigger with every second that passed.

* * *

**Dressing**

Izumi burned her bedpost for the third time that morning as Iliana laced her corsets.

"You don't know how much I despise receiving foreign dignitaries," Izumi grumbled as her fingernails dug deeper into the charred cherry wood.

"You're not receiving a foreign dignitary, My Lord. You are receiving a Queen," Iliana reminded Izumi as she pulled long and hard on the laces at the waist.

"But the _Queen_ has always been like a little sister to me, and once I marry Masaru, she WILL be a little sister to me," Izumi replied, gasping for air. "Is this— really still necessary— especially—considering— our age?"

"It is not necessary as much as it is customary. You can't change everything during your reign, My Lord." Iliana replied gently. Izumi whimpered as Iliana pulled the laces straight up tightening the corset around the Fire Lord's rib cage crushing her torso before tying off the laces.

"For someone who is nearly eighty, you're still frighteningly strong," Izumi commented with a frown.

"I am Fire Nation, My Lord. **We** are strong," Iliana said with a smile. "Come on," Iliana said, holding up the Fire Lord's more formal robes with golden trim along the sleeves and skirts for Izumi to slip into. Iliana snapped the buttons at the throat closed, then folded the robes over and tied them closed under Izumi's right armpit and down her right side. Izumi turned as Iliana went to get her sash. She held up her long sleeves as the maid wrapped the golden sash around her waist tightly against the corset underneath.

Then Iliana picked up the Fire Lords shoulder ceremonial armor fitted with spikes over the shoulders. Izumi ducked into it and folded her cuffs back as Iliana ran a cleaning brush over everything to get any dust off of the gown before letting the Fire Lord leave.

"If it will make you feel better about wearing your ceremonial robes, I can fetch your knives. I know how they make you feel less helpless in times like these," Iliana offered.

Izumi smiled, and her kindly maid ran off to get them.

Armed with her knives, Izumi walked flanked by a dozen imperial guards to the throne room and up to her seat. She looked at the dark trough where she lit a wall of blue fire at least once a day, every day for the past seven years. Then she looked up at the ceiling as they closed the skylight, blocking the clouds from view.

"Father, you say fire comes from the breath, but how do you make fire when your breath has been taken away?" She asked herself as she placed her hand on her nearly completely disabled diaphragm for a moment trying to also still her spinning head. With a wave of both arms, she lit the trough with blue flames that ran the width of the room and sat down cross legged with only mild difficulty in her restricting robes.

"May we present to you the Earth Queen, Suyin Beifong of Zaofu and Gaoling?" the page asked.

"You may," Izumi said, seeing the doors open through the wall of blue flames.

The Earth Queen entered, flanked by two Dai Li Agents and followed by a half dozen metalbending guards from Zaofu in addition to a dozen Royal Earth Kingdom guards.

Izumi had a guard of three dozen imperial firebenders in front of her wall of fire, and two members of the Amber League hidden in her wall of blue flames.

"Fire Lord Izumi," Suyin said, bowing, her head touching the floor as her entire entourage followed suit.

"Earth Queen Suyin, rise," Izumi said stiffly.

Suyin stood.

"Now if you will, dismiss your guard from the room so that I may be rid of mine," Izumi ordered.

Suyin raised a hand and her entire Earth Kingdom entourage bowed and backed out of the throne room.

Once they all left, the Imperial guard split and marched out of the throne room at both sides. Izumi stood up and walked through her wall of fire and embraced the younger Beifong woman and current Earth Queen.

"I curse your new status, Suyin," Izumi informed the woman.

"Why?" Suyin laughed, embracing her old friend.

"Because they made me wear ceremonial robes to greet you since you're a Queen now!" Izumi whined. "It's not fair that I have to get all dolled up while you get to appear before me wearing the same peasant garb from Zaofu!"

Suyin scoffed and gave the Fire Lord a playful shove. "And they claim the _Earth_ is _rigid_ ," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Tell me about it," Izumi droned with a smile.

"So where have you locked up my brother and sister?"

"Your sister and her husband left to explore the Capital again hours ago. My agents should know where they are. You can ask any one of them. As for your brother, he's probably at Earthen Fire Headquarters here. He has two more days before he's free for the week leading up to the wedding."

"Do you need help with the set-up or planning?"

"Actually, I've had a change of heart about that. As much as I enjoyed the camaraderie of planning Lin and Tenzin's wedding, I didn't very much like the chaos. I have assigned a team will take care of the planning. Meanwhile, I've asked you all here early to trick you into taking a forced family vacation here in the Fire Nation," Izumi explained.

Suyin choked. "A family vacation? Why, may I ask? Is this a trap? Should I be worried about potential extermination?"

"Not slightly. I'll give you a hint. Lin's not the only one who keeps really…big secrets," Izumi said obscurely.

Suyin thought for a moment then shoved Izumi to the floor then encased her in entire body in rock.

"HOW MANY!" Suyin shrieked.

"Counting the adopted one or no?" Izumi asked from the ground.

"Counting!"

"Seven?" Izumi said closing her eyes.

Suyin released the Fire Lord and turned away, thinking.

"When Lin gets back, I'm killing you BOTH!" Suyin yelled, stomping her foot at the Fire Lord.

"Understandable," Izumi grunted blowing a lock of loose hair that came undone. "But how will you explain it to my Father?" Izumi asked, struggling to get up. Suyin rolled her eyes and took pity on the Fire Lord before propping her up with an earthen pillar.

"So," Suyin said as she watched Izumi dust off her robes manually.

"Iliana will be livid! She just cleaned them this morning!" Izumi muttered shaking the skirts.

Suyin rolled her eyes again and bent all of the dirt out the fabric. "There! Clean. Now, tell me about these babies!" Suyin said, looping her arm around the Fire Lord's.

Izumi smiled. "Well…" she took a breath and looked up with a smile. Suyin giggled. "Where do I begin?"

"With the first one, obviously!"

"Well, Takeo is a First Class General..." Izumi began.

"All good..." Suyin commented listening to her old friend reveal everything.


	5. Someone New

The two sky bison were cleared to land in the pastures where all of the royal family's animals were housed, fed, and trained.

"Stable master Tonkin says the last time there were Bison here were when Avatar Aang attended my mother's first wedding almost exactly forty one years ago!" Ursa said catching a bag as Huifan threw it off the back of Sam.

"And now there are THREE bison!" Ikki yelled referring to Pepper, Sam, and Oogi who had arrived a few days prior.

"And now there are three," Ursa said with a smile.

"Wait! So no airbender has come to the Fire Nation Royal Palace in 41 years?" Jinora asked, shocked.

"Nope. Well, none ever needed to come to the Palace to help with anything. Avatar Aang and Master Tenzin occasionally visited their favorite islands for vacation, but never once did they have to come to the Palace," Ursa answered.

"That's good. It means that your grandfather was doing well and from what I've heard, his rule was just," Jinkun commented.

"It was, and I am proud of him, but don't discredit my mom either. Even though grandfather officially abdicated in 167AG, Mother had been the de facto ruler since 150AG," Ursa responded.

"Really? That is soooooo cool!" Jinora exclaimed.

"You know, your mother kiiiiiind of scared me for a long while, but the more I hear of her, the more I like her," Ikki confessed.

Ursa smiled. She initially found the child rather rude, and almost annoying on Ember Island, but her energy was growing on the princess slightly.

"Ikki! Don't tell people that! It's rude!" Jinora scolded.

"Speaking of mothers," Kang says pointing.

"Mom! Dad!" Xiaoyu flew off of Pepper and ran over to Lin and Tenzin as they strided over to the pair of bison and the group.

"You're safe!" Lin exclaimed, running towards Xiaoyu and scooping up Ikki and Jinora on her way.

"And you're dressed in Fire Nation clothes!" Huifan replied from atop Sam.

"The red suits you," Jiexue nodded, removing the reins from Sam's horns.

"It's safer that way," Lin replied, mussing Meelo's hair.

"Princess Ursa! So good to see you! Thank you for hosting our children Ember Island!" Tenzin said bowing to Ursa politely.

"The pleasure was all mine," Ursa said with a smirk, exchanging a deviously knowing glance with Huifan who helped her sneak into all of the formerly off-limits rooms with her metalbending so they could pry into their parents' past lives.

"What did you find?" Lin asked, not missing the shared glance between the two young women.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Aunt Lin!" Ursa lied while Huifan laughed.

"Don't worry, Lin. I'm sure all of your secrets are safe," a new voice said as Suyin appeared. "I had some Dai Li agents break in and extract anything on you or me that might be… incriminating, once I ascended the Earth Kingdom throne."

"Su, you're here! When did you arrive?" Lin asked, hugging her sister.

"This morning, but you and Baldy had already gone into town," Suyin replied, "So I have been meandering through the gardens waiting for someone interesting to come by when I felt two sky bison landing nearby."

"Have you seen my mother already? Is she busy?" Ursa asked eagerly.

"Unfortunately yes, my dear. She had a meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs right after formally receiving me. I swear the customs here can get **_really_** annoying!" Suyin said.

"Tell me about it!" Ursa groaned, rolling her eyes with a smile.

"You know what I do when I get annoyed with protocol?" Suyin asked, draping an arm over the crown Princess of the Fire Nation.

"What?" Ursa asked.

"Say, FUCK IT! And do my own thing! You should try it sometimes!" Suyin encouraged, beaming.

"Su! You're going to get us all banished for corrupting the princess!" Lin scolded.

"I'm not _corrupting the princess_. I am teaching my soon-to-be-niece how to live a little and have a some fun," Suyin replied slyly.

"Aunt Su! Since you're here, does this mean Wing and Wei are too?" Hungjian asked excitedly from atop Sam.

"Yes! I believe they're exploring the Palace," Suyin answered.

"They're going to get lost," Ursa mumbled knowingly with mild concern.

"Hopefully their seismic sense is good enough for them to find their way back to something familiar," Suyin responded.

"If it isn't, we always have Huifan's range. I bet she could map the capital, and find them quickly enough," Ursa said with a wink to her friend.

"Yes, but I'm sure Huifan won't always be available to help find every lost soul in that Palace. To prevent that from becoming necessary, Ursa, dear, would you mind giving your soon-to-be cousins a tour of your home so they don't all have to always travel en mass? " Suyin asked the princess. "In the meantime, I need to have a word with Lin and Tenzin."

"Yes, of course!" Ursa said with a nod. "But first we have to finish unpacking."

Just then a team of Imperial Guards arrived near the stables led by Genkei.

"Princess Ursa, welcome home. Your mother would like me to ask that you go enjoy your time with family. We will take care of the luggage and the bison," Genkei said with a bow.

Ursa glanced at Huifan and then to the others. "Alright. Thanks, Genkei." Ursa said bowing to the man before waving her friends to follow.

* * *

Deep in the heart of the residential quarter of the Fire Nation Palace, three metalbenders wrapped in red towels made their way through the halls, two of them dragging their reluctant older brother behind them.

"I heard there's a GIANT bathtub on the fourth floor!" Wing yelled as he and Wei dragged Huan up the stairs.

"Yeah with a hundred water spouts!"

"And rainbow water!"

"And fancy soaps!"

"I have no interest in rainbow water or fancy soaps. Why couldn't you just let me bathe in peace, in my assigned private quarters?" Huan groaned.

"Because! We're brothers! We couldn't let you waste a bath in such a kickass palace in a standard tub! Come on!" Wei said pulling harder. Huan rolled his eyes.

When they entered the bathroom they weren't alone. A man already sat at the far end of the tub up to his neck in bubbles with a butler bent down beside him holding a tray with tea.

"Oh, sorry. We'll come back later," Wei said turning away to leave the bathroom, blushing as the glimpse of the man's long black hair, pointed chin and striking Amber eyes remained in the font of his mind.

"Oh no, don't worry. Do join me, I wouldn't mind the company-" the man replied sipping his tea. "Are you guests of my mother?" he asked with a Fire Nation Accent that made Wei shiver.

"I'd answer, but we don't know your mother," Wing replied, yanking the red towel around his waist off with a flourish, stripping while Wei kept his back to the stranger to disrobe himself.

"We came with the Queen," Huan informed the stranger, unfazed by his presence.

"In that case, I should apprise you that my mother is the Fire Lord, and my father, your uncle," the man said. He transferred his alluring gaze to Wei who had turned to face him aghast, trying to find some sort of resemblance that would prove they could never be together. "Sorry to disappoint you, Wei is it?" Tetsuya asked with a smirk, his long black hair flowing around him in the water. Wei nearly choked.

"Oh? Did you have a crush on a cousin?" Wing asked jokingly punching his twin brother in the arm.

"I did not!" Wei replied shrilly, defensive in his tone.

Huan rolled his eyes.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Wei. We do not get to choose whom we love. If we did, my mother would have saved everyone a headache and stayed with Hisoki Ibonara... and I would not be here," the man said placing his empty teacup on the butler's tray to take to refill.

"Wait so... who are you? Our mother told us we had seven new cousins but couldn't remember their names," Wing asked curiously.

"I don't blame her," the beautiful man shrugged. "We're not very memorable, not _yet_ at least. My name is Tetsuya. Tetsuya Lee." the man said draping his arms on the rim of the tub.

"Tetsuya," Wing tried rolling the name off of his tongue. "I like that! It's very dramatic!"

"And how do you know our names?" Wei asked suddenly, his emotions filled with suspicion. "Even our mother sometimes doesn't know our names."

"No, she knows them, she just can't keep them straight," Wing corrected his twin.

"I have had some birds watching you from afar for a while now. There are some subtle differences I knew to look out for. The first being your mirrored haircut, the second being your jewelry,"

"Little birds... like spies?" Wei asked.

"Precisely. I am a regional head of a division of my mother's Amber League. Have you heard of it?" Tetsuya asked.

Wing nodded with uncertainty. "It's like the Dai Li right?" Wing asked.

"Yes, only much more moral," Tetsuya replied with an air of contempt. "And far better dressed, I might add."

"You mean not dressed at all?" Wei asked with a wink at Tetsuya's bare body.

Tetsuya smiled. "You definitely have your maternal grandmother's humor."

"Yes!" Wei whispered pumping his arm in the air, proudly.

"Brother," another rather elegant man with waist-length, layered black hair cascading down his sculpted back said entering the bathroom and shrugging off a robe.

"Brother," Tetsuya said looking up at him.

Wing and Wei watched as the newcomer pulled the flame decoration out of the bun that contained half his hair and pulled the ribbon out of it letting the rest all fall in beautiful long black locks before he stepped into the large tub. When he finally turned and sat down, Wing and Wei gasped.

"You're identical twins too!" they exclaimed in unison at the sight of the two twin sons of the Fire Lord.

"We are!" the newcomer confirmed with the same sly grin.

"Yet what we share in physical likeness, we lack in the similarity of our personalities," Tetsuya informed Wing and Wei.

"Ahhh!"

"Cool!"

"Can you elaborate?" Huan asked, blank-faced.

"I inherited mother's brains. He inherited her strength," Tetsuya replied simply.

"Woah!" the twins gasped.

"And Azula's fourteen-year-old arrogance," Huan muttered.

"Pardon?" Tatsuya asked turning to the long-haired son of Suyin Beifong.

Huan shrugged and didn't respond.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you, Huan?" Tatsuya asked turning to the earthbender with the green bangs.

"What's there to say? You already know everything about us-" Huan shrugged dully.

"It is just casual conversation. Don't you want to get to know us?" Tatsuya asked feigning hurt.

"I was earth King for a week. Do you really think that in that time I wouldn't have placed a couple Dai Li agents under my command?" Huan asked blasé.

Tetsuya and Tatsuya were both smiling while Huan couldn't look more disinterested.

"You're a wise man, Huan," Tetsuya said raising his teacup.

Wing and Wei laughed. "Huan? Wise? All right, I guess we can give him that," Wing chuckled.

"But we're the cool ones!" Wei clarified.

"Yeah and the good-looking ones," Wing boasted.

"Of course you are," Tetsuya said raising a glass winking at Huan while the twins were distracted by their own raucous laughter. Huan showed no response.

* * *

The chambers Lin and Tenzin were given were in the Royal Resident Quarter of the palace, close to where Izumi and her family were staying. There was a massive four poster bed in the center of the room on an elevated platform, a wardrobe in addition to an empty walk-in closet, a makeup table, desk, bookshelf filled with selected works from the Royal Library that some of Izumi's advisors thought Tenzin might enjoy, and a full bar and tea kettle and stove top as well as an assortment of only the finest teas the Fire nation had to offer.

"Leave it to Zumi to provide such classy accommodations," Suyin said, sitting on the crimson blankets that covered the bed.

"She _is_ the Fire Lord," Lin reminded, Suyin changing out of the Fire Nation Red into some green Earth Kingdom robes while in the castle.

"Did she tell you?" Suyin asked.

"About her kiddos?" Lin said, changing into green robes.

"Yep. What do you think?"

"She's screwing herself over." Lin said, neatly folding her clothes and putting them away in the closet.

"How so?" Suyin asked, her eyes watching her sister with interest.

"By letting them find each other on their own."

"How would that screw her over?"

"Iroh knows the oldest three and Taemon he brought home, so the existence of the youngest three probably won't come as a surprise, but I have a feeling that Ursa won't be so accepting."

"And why is that?"

"Because she has known Saru all her life, and has never even known he had children."

"Well we've known our mother all our lives and didn't know she had Saru until less than a year ago," Suyin replied, laying down on the crimson clad bed. "This is no different."

"No different? Zumi wants to name Takeo the heir apparent!"

Suyin sat up quickly. "She did not mention that when she was telling me about her babies earlier."

"Well she told Tenzin and me after one of her henchmen confirmed that Ursa did not want to be the next Fire Lord."

"Well if Ursa doesn't want the crown then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that Ursa grew up thinking it was just her and Iroh. After Iroh went and joined an international army, Ursa believed she would have to become Fire Lord. Now suddenly her mom is remarrying and just _happens_ to have another heir lined up already? Zumi's dishonesty could seriously damage the trust between them." Lin explained. "But I guess you wouldn't know much about honesty, would you, Su." Lin added quietly.

"Hey! You take that back!" Suyin yelled chucking a rock at Lin's head. Lin ducked and returned a metal strip yanking Suyin off the bed by the wrist.

"Make me!" Lin replied.

"What is going on?!" a new voice interrupted.

"KYA!"

* * *

"And this is the Dragon Ballroom… It used to be where Sozin and later Azulon would showcase the heads of the dragons they slain after returning from their various hunts. The remains of the dragons now reside in the Dragon Bone Catacombs underneath the city…" Ursa said pointing through an open archway in the hallway where they walked now to a cavernous ballroom below decorated with an abundance dragon designs crafted out of massive amounts of gold and rubies. There was a throne in every room as if the Fire Lord were expected to simply sit during any social function.

"Did you ever get lost in here as a child? Have you ever tried climbing one of those dragon-wrapped pillars? They look climb-able! Is your dragon allowed to come inside with you like a racoon-cat or a fire-ferret or a catfish? How many dragons are left in the world? When was the last 'event' that was held in this ballroom? Why are there SO MANY ballrooms? Why are there so many rooms? So many of the ones were just empty. What is the purpose of all the extravagance and excess…" Ikki rattled off breathlessly.

Huifan rolled her eyes and enjoyed the scenery of the ballroom. Not all of the rooms were empty, she thought. This one surely wasn't, Huifan thought as she spotted a trio of handsome Fire Nation men standing in the ballroom, looking up at the throne, talking about something.

"Princess Ursa, who are they?" Jinora asked pointing at the three down in the ballroom.

"The one furthest right is Kohaku. He is an intern for the secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs," Ursa answered as they walked. "I don't know the other two."

Huifan couldn't seem to take her eyes off the three men in the Dragon Ballroom. Two wore their hair long like Fire Nation royalty but couldn't possibly be Fire Nation Royals. There were only three. Izumi, Iroh, and Ursa. Iroh already rebelled and chopped off his locks when he was eighteen and joined the United Forces. So who were these two?

"Fa-Ni! You coming?" Jiexue called from down the hall.

"You go on without me. I don't need the tour. I'll find my way back eventually with my feet," Huifan replied, waving them off.

"She'll be fine. We're safe here," Ursa said dismissively as she led the group down another hall.

Huifan turned back to the hall to find only two men remaining. The one who previously stood in the middle of the three was gone.

"I must say, the opulence is rather arresting," a smooth voice with an ambiguous Fire Nation accent said beside Huifan. She jumped to the side after realizing a man stood mere inches from her, leaning on the same railway, looking down at the same place. How long had he been there? How did her seismic sense not pick up his presence? Why didn't anybody else warn her some stranger was coming and… wait…

"Weren't you just down there?" Huifan asked the man, sliding away from him cautiously.

"Yes," he replied plainly, looking up now at the chandeliers.

"And how did you get up here so quickly? The nearest stairway to this level must have been at least eight minutes away walking," Huifan said, checking the layout of the palace with her feet.

"There aren't only firebenders living in this palace," the man replied with a smile.

"Are you an earthbender or something?" Huifan asked, checking the floors and walls for evidence of any disturbance.

"No," he said opening his hand to reveal a small red flame. "I wish I were, but alas, I have been cursed with such a common form of bending," he replied. "You know, firebenders are the most numerous type of benders alive today."

"Probably because they've killed off so many other types of benders," Huifan said suspiciously, trying to read the man's difficult heartbeat for some irregularity.

"In the past, yes, but times have changed," he replied.

"Who are you?" Huifan asked the man.

He finally turned to face her.

"My name is Lee. Taemon Lee," he said, bowing to her.

"You introduce yourself by your surname first as if you were a lord or someone of high standing." Huifan commented.

"Is that a crime?" Taemon asked.

"No, simply an observation."

"Yet you sound surprised."

"It's just that Lee is such a common name here in the Fire Nation." Huifan replied.

"Perhaps I am simply particularly proud of my branch of Lees. Perhaps my branch does indeed have standing? We are in a palace, are we not? Such a thing should not come as a shock to anybody."

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend," Huifan said with slight regret. Why did his gaze make her feel the need to look away?

"You cannot offend me." Taemon said proudly. "What do they call you, my lady? By the way you speak of people with high standing, I can tell you too are from a great family."

"Yeshe. Huifan Yeshe." she answered.

"You're a granddaughter of the last Avatar," Taemon said.

"How do you know?" _Grandfather never used his surname, and my parents didn't publish our last name in the Republic City Newspaper after their wedding. Most of the world still thinks we're all Beifongs._

"My father told me," Taemon replied.

"Your father must be a very well-read man to have unearthed such a piece of information."

"He's a bit like yours in that sense, though I must say, much more- fun and free-spirited."

Huifan laughed. "Is he a monk or one of the Fire Sages?"

"Oma-Shu, no! He's a businessman, and a great one at that."

"Have I heard of him?"

"Most likely," Taemon answered with a slightly devious grin that made Huifan's heart flutter slightly.

"Are you flirting with me?" she asked, not liking the expression he gave her.

"Spirits no! Don't worry! Besides, it is forbidden for me to court any daughter of Beifong,"

"You know of my mother too?" Huifan asked.

"Who doesn't?" Taemon laughed. "You act as if you are still living in isolation on that grand estate in Republic City. Times are changing, Huifan. We don't have to hide what we know anymore."

"And what else do you know that you're not telling me?"

"That there are other ways of hiding in plain sight of your enemies," he said, looking directly into her emerald eyes.

"Are you an enemy?" Huifan asked warily.

He smiled. "Not slightly." he said. She felt his heart then. He was being genuine.

Just then they were joined by a messenger. "Master Taemon. Your mother has summoned you," Unako said to the man standing before Huifan.

"Just me?" Taemon asked.

"You and your siblings," Unako replied.

"May I bring my new acquaintance?" he asked nodding to Huifan.

"She did not specify if you were to come alone," the messenger replied.

"Very well. Let us go," the man said, offering his arm to Huifan. She hesitated for a brief instant before linking wrists with him.

Unako eyed the two nervously wondering why Taemon didn't protest to Izumi being referred to as his mother as he usually did rather staunchly. Must have something to do with the Earth Kingdom Lady. _She is very beautiful._ Thought the messenger as Taemon lead them to the chamber.

"How do you know where you're going?" Huifan asked curiously as they walked for a while through corridors Ursa hadn't yet shown her and her siblings. "The messenger didn't specify a meeting place to see your mother?"

"We have a arranged to always meet at the same default location. It makes life so much easier since not all of us have spent as much time in the Palace as some others," Taemon replied. Huifan found herself walking a little bit taller than before when beside him.

* * *

"The Throne Room?" Huifan asked recognizing the massive doors that lead to the gallery before the throne room from the pictures in the history books.

"Yes," Taemon replied. The doors opened for the two of them. The hallway just inside was lined with Imperial Guardsmen, and then there was the smaller curtain with the Royal Family's flaming insignia embroidered in it hanging over the final entrance to the chamber.

Huifan gasped. The City Hall in Republic City had been big when she visited for her mother's retirement party, but this Throne room alone would have been able to engulf that building twice over with room to spare. The dragon-wrapped pillars were three times as large as those in the Dragon Ballroom. It was bright with an open skylight letting rays of sunshine in to reflect against the incredible amounts of gold on the pillars.

"Oh? What's this?" a man leaning against a column with his arms folded, one foot up, and a mane of long, loose yet tidy black hair flowing freely down his back and a single lock hanging in front of his face asked tauntingly with a rather alluring smirk.

"Has Taemon found himself a girlfriend?" the man whom Huifan saw in the Dragon Ballroom with the long, dark, loose ponytail asked standing next to the first. Huifan took a double take. Those two were twins! Both had identical faces, and an identical lock of hair falling down the middle of their faces.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Taemon replied defensively, quickly letting go of Huifan's hand. "She can't be. She's a _Beifong!_ "

"Oh?" the twins glanced sideways at each other, both smiling.

"Technically you _can_ still love her since you're not a blood Beifong," a man with slicked, long black hair secured in a low and tight ponytail at the base of his neck said standing without the support of a pillar reminded Taemon.

"Yeah, we don't get to choose who we love. It is just something that _happens_ ," a rather rougher, buffer looking man said looking directly at Huifan with a wink as though he knew something she didn't. Though he was well-dressed and well-groomed, Huifan could tell he had not been trained in high society etiquette as the others in the room.

"Oh Kuto, we don't need any more of your swamp philosophy," one of the twins groaned.

"No, Kuto has a point. We don't get to choose who we love," Taemon said turning to Huifan with a smile. She stepped away.

"Okay, look, I only just met this guy! We're not dating and **_certainly_** aren't anywhere near even wanting to love each other"

"I would believe you, but unfortunately for you, your heart tells the truth!" the gruff and buff man said throwing his arm over Huifan's shoulder as if he were already on familiar terms with her and had been for years. She tensed under him and then shoved him off of her and into the ground with a heavy thud kicking up a cloud of dust.

"You're an earthbender?" Huifan asked looking at the man on the ground. How else could he feel their heartbeats? And how could he read Taemon's. Taemon's was so… tricky… as if it were trained against truth-seers.

"Yep!" the man said finding his feet rather clumsily again.

"So does anyone know why Mother summoned us today?" the man with the long free hair asked leaning on his pillar.

"Does anyone ever know why Mother summons us any day as of late?" the oldest of them all asked standing solo with his long hair secured in a high pony tail that resembled the paintings and portraits of young Fire Lord Zuko.

"Where is she anyways?"

"Right here, forgive the delay. Minister for Foreign Affairs never does stop talking. I swear if we don't get him replaced by the end of the year, I am going to melt his mouth shut!" a familiar voice said entering the room.

Huifan turned and saw the Fire Lord entering brusquely with Masaru walking to her left, and the man Ursa identified as Genkei walking to her right with at least a dozen guards following them. "Aunt Zumi?" Huifan asked blinking her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Huifan! I didn't expect to see you here. I see you've met the boys," Izumi said with a nervous smile as she joined them with Masaru.

"Uncle Saru?" Huifan asked blinking a couple of times again.

"Was Kuto being rude at all?" Izumi asked frowning at the earthbender who now stood but was still busy brushing himself off.

"He-"

"Or was it Taemon?" Izumi asked reading the looks on both of their faces, and seeing only the same childish innocence that always existed on Rikuto's face.

"No, neither were particularly rude, why do you ask?" Huifan asked.

"Well, Taemon does have a tendency to get himself into trouble. He and Tetsuya. You would not believe how often dear Sasuke has had to bail them out of rather… sticky situations, if I might say," Izumi said laughing lightly, motioning to the man leaning on the column with long flowing hair when she said Tetsuya and the standalone man with tight low ponytail hair when she said Sasuke.

Huifan looked at both. _Wait… the messenger said to Taemon his mother summoned him… And Tetsuya and the man with the ponytail asked about where their mother was and Izumi entered saying 'right here' and..._

"Sasuke Lee," the man with the slicked back hair and low ponytail said with deep bow. "I am a lawyer based out of the village of Shu Jing. I've also a firm in Fire Fountain City, Omashu, Ba Sing Se, and Zaofu."

"Lee? Wait! You're all Lees?" Huifan asked. _And then Taemon said they had a default meeting location…_

"Well, I was adopted, which is why they say it wouldn't be morally disgusting for me to fuck- I mean love you," Taemon said with a casual wave of his hand.

Izumi punched Taemon in the stomach as she walked forward past him to Huifan as if to make sure she wouldn't flee. "Yes, they are all Lees-"

"Uncle Saru- Aunt Zumi- They're yours?" Huifan asked stepping away from them warily avoiding Izumi's touch as if she were a physical flame. _Because not all of them have spent as much time in the Palace as some others..._

"Yes, Huifan, they are ours, but before you say another word, let me explain, and thank you and your family for everything," Masaru said stepping towards Huifan since she wouldn't let Izumi come nearer.

"Wait, thank us for what? Why?" Huifan asked stepping back with her hands up, mortified, seeing not family but strangers standing before her, strangers that only knew her name… and were coming closer.

"You've given us courage to go public with our relationship, to get married, and legitimize our children. You've inspired us to come out of the shadows. Because you and your siblings have assimilated so well to the world, blending in seamlessly with the masses, and acting with humility and grace, we thought our children may be able to do the same and join you in the light of each day..." Izumi answered for Masaru.

"You- you lied to us!" Huifan said stepping away from Izumi. "You lied to the world!- For decades!"

"Huifan, like your mother, we had our reasons for keeping our children a secret from everybody," Izumi said .

"Do Iroh and Ursa know?" Huifan demanded.

"Huifan-"

"DO THEY KNOW?!" Huifan repeated.

"Iroh does know of some of them. Ursa doesn't." Izumi said in defeat.

Huifan thought for a split second before turning on her heel and heading for the door of the throne room. Izumi clenched her fists, changing strategy instantly.

"Huifan Yeshe, where do you think you're going?" Izumi yelled at Lin's metalbending daughter in a condescending tone.

"To tell MY friend, YOUR daughter, what YOU should have told her a LONG time ago!" Huifan replied throwing open the curtains.

"BAR THE DOORS!" Izumi barked. There was a heavy slam and the doors to the antechamber shut.

Huifan turned on the Fire Lord. "Let me pass!" she demanded.

"Huifan, you must understand what we did we had to do for numerous reasons beyond your comprehension. Those aside, you have no right to interfere with the relative stability within **_my_** family-"

"Your family? Since you're marrying my BLOOD uncle, your family is mine so I have every right to interfere!" Huifan argued.

"Why are you so angry? Your own father didn't tell Jinora and her siblings about YOU!" Izumi argued.

"To protect Pema and secure the future of the Air Nation! Who were you protecting by withholding this information?" Huifan demanded.

"Ursa and the Fire Nation!" Izumi replied.

"And how was that supposed to protect either? What was your plan then? To let Ursa read about this little 'development' in the morning paper the day after your wedding? She's waited long enough Aunt Izumi! She deserves to hear the full story from family not from some random journalist who found a leak!" Huifan said turning to the door.

"And you still don't know the full story so don't you even think about taking one more step, young lady!" Izumi said.

"Oh and what are you going to do to stop me, My Lord? Burn me? Banish me? You need my mother and father as allies, if your precious Fire Nation is ever going to survive!" Huifan replied bowing to Izumi. She swung her leg backwards kicking right through the massive throne room doors and left the room fuming using earthbending to increase the speed at which she got away.

"Kuto, use your seismic sense. Find Ursa, we must intercept Huifan and stop her," Izumi ordered.

"Yes Ma'am!" Rikuto replied obediently kicking up a pillar so he could use all four limbs to map the palace.

"Uh… Mother, what about the rest of us?" Takeo asked.

"Yeah, were you going to talk to us about something?" Sasuke inquired.

"Succession, but unfortunately that conversation will have to wait," Izumi replied.

"FOUND THEM!" Rikuto yelled.

"Excuse us," Izumi said breaking off into a run, nudging Rikuto's arm to join her.

* * *

"Huifan's angry," Jinkun said suddenly as he and his siblings followed the Princess, Ursa down another expansive hall.

"How do you know?" Ursa asked halting her pace, turning to face the earthbending artist son of Lin and Tenzin..

"She makes these tremors when she walks when she's angry," Ikki explained. Just then, the ground really began to shake.

"Huifan is REALLY angry!" Meelo announced, frightened.

"We should probably run and hide," Kang suggested.

"No, I need to know what happened in my palace. Why would my friend be so angry?" Ursa said firmly walking towards the source of the quakes. "Are you alright?"

"You know those three guys we saw in the Dragon Ballroom?" Huifan asked breathlessly.

"Yeah?" Ursa said with her brows knitted with worry

"You said one was a guy called Kohaku,"

"Yeah?"

"Well the other two are your brothers," Huifan said seething with rage. "They're half-brothers but still brothers."

Ursa shook her head. "That is impossible. I only have one brother. Iroh… Mother would never-"

"I was just in the throne room. Both YOUR mother and MY uncle Saru confirmed it-"

"Uncle Saru? No!" Ursa yelled. "He wouldn't! Mother said he refused to touch her when they were teenagers because he cared too much for her reputation! She was married to my father for fifteen years before he was murdered in cold blood by assassins. Uncle Saru WOULDN'T engage in adultery! He knows it would ruin us! He- he's good! He has always been!" Ursa cried incredulously.

"I thought so too, Ursa," Huifan said hugging the princess.

When Ursa lifted her head from Huifan's shoulder, she saw her mother standing behind the earthbender, accompanied by a dozen members of the imperial guard, Genkei, and a man Ursa had never seen before. He wore Fire Nation clothes but no shoes like an earthbender.

"Sorry it took so long to locate them, Mother. My seismic sense is not as strong as the Beifong Girl. Grandma Toph says its because I'm a boy and boys are weak and-" the man rambled on.

"That will be all, Rikuto, you are dismissed now," Izumi said sternly, looking at Ursa in Huifan's arms.

"He called you Mother?" Ursa noted out loud, tears stinging her eyes. Huifan let go and turned to face the Fire Lord.

"Should I stay?" the man, Rikuto said.

"I said you were dismissed. Were you not listening?" Izumi asked dangerously.

"Forgive me mother," the earthbender said bowing before running off in the opposite direction.

"And his grandmother is Toph?" Ursa asked holding back sobs.

"Ursa, I can explain," Izumi said stepping towards her.

Ursa slid back. "It is a little late for that now, Mother," Ursa replied shaking her head before breaking off into a run.

"Thanks a lot, Huifan," Izumi said to the metalbender.

Huifan shook her head. "You brought this on yourself, Aunt Zumi," Huifan replied taking off in the same direction as Ursa.

Seconds later, Suyin, Kya and Lin arrived.

"What did you do?" Lin demanded of the Fire Lord Izumi.

"Why are you assuming this is my doing?" Izumi asked.

"I could feel my child quaking from six miles away, and last time I checked, my daughter was on good terms with all of her friends and siblings, which left _only you_ to fall out her good graces."

Izumi sighed.

"And then as I got closer, I could feel your daughter's heart breaking," Lin added.

Izumi closed her eyes, and tried to hold back her emotions. A Fire Lord wasn't allowed to cry in front of so many people, ESPECIALLY her own family.

"Let's get you guys tucked into rooms," Suyin said rounding up all of Lin's children with Kya's help ushering them away to let the two old friends to calm down.


	6. Steam

The incessant knocking was driving Ursa insane as she tossed and turned in bed.

"Ursa, please let us in!" Jiexue called through the door.

"I'm not interested!" Ursa replied.

"Not an option," Huifan said sliding the door open with her earthbending allowing Jiexue, Opal, Jinora, Ikki, and herself to enter against the Princess's wishes, as she closed the door behind them. Ursa groaned and rolled over covering her head with a pillow.

"If I didn't need my mother's approval, I'd have you all banished from the palace for intruding!" Ursa growled.

"Come on, we all know you don't want that," Huifan said sitting on the bed closest to Ursa.

"You said so yourself," Ikki began to say floating onto the foot of Ursa's massive bed, landing on her knees softly. "It gets lonely being a princess."

"Which is why we wanted to come talk to you." Opal informed the princess sitting on one corner with her back against one of the four posts. "Maybe having siblings won't be so bad even if they're only half."

"I mean… we're half siblings, and things are more or less alright, I guess," Xiaoyu said putting an arm around Jinora.

"That wasn't put very encouragingly," Jiexue said punching Xiaoyu in the arm on her way to sit opposite Huifan, close to Ursa. Xiaoyu scowled at her.

"In all honestly, the blood siblings are the worst, I think, and I am sure my father would agree," Xiaoyu growled.

"Ignore them. They're almost all idiots," Huifan said to Ursa. "I also wanted to apologize for overreacting earlier. I think my reaction may have contributed to your anger towards your mum. I too felt betrayed by her because… well… we grew up seeing her four times a year when no one else besides Aunt Kya was allowed to visit us. We thought she was a goddess and I'm pretty sure you felt the same way too at least sometimes. But everyone has his or her faults and secrets."

"And reasons, that more often than not, do justify their actions," Jiexue added.

"Well what were hers?" Ursa asked.

"Well, we don't know the specifics, but her story is hers to tell, not ours," Huifan replied.

Ursa sat up and pulled her knees in against her chest. "I guess I just liked not having competition."

"Competition?" Ikki asked.

"For Mother's attention. She spends so much time tending to the nation, sometimes I feel like she forgets about me. Now I know, it wasn't just the nation demanding her energy, but also a whole other family," Ursa said sadly.

"Don't think of them as being her 'other' family. Just think of them as friends you haven't met yet!" Ikki suggested optimistically, waving her arms in a large arch as if she could make a rainbow appear over her head.

Ursa smiled. "Okay, I'll try, little one," Ursa promised looking at the youngest female air baby

* * *

After getting her ears chewed off by Lin and occasionally Tenzin and Baatar, surprisingly, Izumi needed to relieve herself of some steam. She could take a bath and let her dragons battle each other into oblivion, or she could burn off some of the stress in the training room. She hoped to find it empty but alas, Tatsuya was there burning through punching bags.

"Tatsu, when is the last time you got into a tavern fight?" Izumi asked her son casually shedding her ceremonial armor.

"Last week just before you called for us. And you?" Tatsuya replied.

"Never," Izumi said plainly.

"Let me revise. When's the last time you got into any fight anywhere?" Tatsuya asked.

"The Siege Of Republic City."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"I don't enjoy fighting, no. And I don't enjoy killing, but if it is necessary, I will do it."

"Fair enough. What brings you down here this evening, Mother?" Tatsuya asked.

"Stress." Izumi replied simply taking off her extraneous layers until she was in nothing but a crimson tank top, black pants, and her deep burgundy boots with the single golden stripe up the middle of each leg. "How would you like to go up against your old Mother, like old times?"

"I wouldn't mind it," Tatsuya replied shrugging and kicking his last dummy over for good measure, decapitating it cleanly.

They started at opposite ends of the room and bowed to each other. Three paces right then two left again. Tatsuya lunged forward as his mother jumped towards him at the same time. He spun on the floor and kicked a wave of red towards her. She broke it effortlessly returning blue.

"You never do show mercy, do you?" Tatsuya commented.

"I do, to children under the age of ten, you're almost thirty, Love," Izumi replied. "You should be able to handle a little flame and couple bright lights," Izumi said sending lightning his way. Tatsuya effortlessly redirected it into the wall behind him.

"Your style has changed. It's more... fluid now like a waterbender," Izumi noted.

Tatsuya smiled. "Very observant, Mother," Tatsuya said creating a fire ball blasting it in her direction. She bade a blue dish shaped shield to block it in a dazzling teal display.

Izumi felt herself tiring quicker than she used to. She dodged a blast from her son and returned this time with one large, sustained blast from one hand. She knew he'd try to go around and he did. She got him with her foot and he fell over onto his back, getting the air knocked out of him.

"Ugh! I'm getting too old for these matches, mother," Tatsuya coughed.

"Oh please. I am twice your age, so stop complaining," Izumi said, walking over to get something to drink from the fountain in the corner of the training room, leaving her son to struggle to breathe on his own with full confidence in his recovery. Tatsuya wiped off his sweat and got himself a drink as well.

"So much has changed, Tatsu. So much _is_ _changing_ ," Izumi sighed bitter sweetly looking at her youngest son beside her all grown up.

"You have no idea," Tatsuya replied with a sly side eye that resembled his maternal grandmother, and great aunt immensely.

Izumi refilled her cup chugged it then burnt the paper thing to ash and walked over to wipe her sweat off.

"How are you for a second round? Can you redeem yourself or will continue to shame my teaching by losing again to an old lady?" Izumi asked her youngest son.

"Oh Master Mother! When you put it that way, I don't have a choice! I _must_ defeat the Fire Lord to regain my honor! Though that _is_ a rather high demand don't you think?"

"I never took you to shy away from anything," Izumi said with a smirk.

"I don't. I was merely testing that you're actually up to challenging me for real. That first match-- that was just a spar."

"Don't get to cocky, my beloved Son," Izumi said smirking deviously. "You still have no idea the power I possess."

"Nor do you I," Tatsuya replied with a glint in his golden eyes.


	7. Two Dragons

Ursa sat at her desk with her diary open.

_It's been two days since I've seen Mother and for the first time, it's my fault. Marnie tells me Mother has cleared all of her meetings for an entire week and placed Kei-Lo in charge of the entire country temporarily so she can be free to spend time with family. They're only to contact her in the event of an emergency. I know it is still not ideal but it's a step, I guess, towards paying us more attention._

_I've received invitations to tea with the other women of the family and dinners with everybody but this far have had no interest in going, and she hadn't made me. Jiexue even came by to see if I wanted to join her, Opal, and Huifan to try 'speed dating'. They told me they all were planning on using aliases as to not shame their respective families. I declined. The concept sound like a stupid waste of time, though who am I to judge? I've just wasted two days in my room brooding over what has already been done. Perhaps I should try to talk to Mother and get the full story. She never has intentionally hurt me. She tried her best to protect me from the Fire Sages and the Academy. She granted me all the freedom she could allow without ruining my family or sacrificing our safety. Maybe I will this afternoon or something, after tea._

* * *

"I swear to Ran and Sha, Lin, if you say one more word criticizing my parenting methods-" Izumi growled haughtily, storming away from the almost equally enraged metalbender.

"I'm not criticizing! I'm just trying to help you see things from a different perspective!" Lin replied. "Believe it or not, I'm looking out for you, Zumzu!"

"Well, I don't need you to, so **stop**!" Izumi yelled, halting and swinging a blazing hand to put distance between her and the earthbender. A guard opened the door to the parlor to allow the Fire Lord and the former Chief of Police of Republic City to enter.

One one long, red velvet daybed, Kya and Suyin lay intertwined in each other's arms, dozing in and out of consciousness, both completely at ease. Opposite them, two legendary ancients sat watching their daughter's with mild amusement.

"Mom?" Lin exclaimed with surprise.

"Aunt Katara," Izumi acknowledged.

"What are you doing here?" Lin asked.

"I came for the wedding of course, and to remind Kuto to teach Huifan how real earthbenders fight." Toph answered casually.

"Aunt Toph, you're going to get my son killed," Izumi frowned disapprovingly, rubbing her head.

"You underestimate your kiddos, Zumi. You always have," Toph replied, casually kicking her feet up on the table in front of her, tucking her hands behind her head.

Izumi pretended to not hear the truth that Toph spoke and turned to Genkei. "What is the status of the Satomobile?"

"Almost here, my Lord."

"Any troubles with my daughter?"

"None. She came right after her exam, as promised."

"Excellent." Izumi took a deep breath, worry plain as day on her face.

"Why have you been so damn angsty recently?" Suyin asked Izumi. "You're acting like your father."

"Maybe it's because cat's out of the bag and her world is falling apart?" Lin suggested.

"Will you QUIT IT?!" Izumi yelled at Lin who shrugged and walked to the other end of the room, by the fireplace.

"My Lord," Genkei said entering. "The car has arrived."

"I should go warn her," Izumi said starting to leave.

"Na-ah!" Toph said putting one foot down, encasing Izumi's feet in rock. "You SHOULD relax. We're all going to be family. If you're still all high-strung and crazy when your little girl shows up, it will stress her out."

"You will stress her out," Izumi deadpanned.

"We're just aunties, and grannies. The girl is not walking into a snake pit, so CALM DOWN!" Toph said slowly.

Izumi took a deep breath, and Toph released her feet so she could stand normally again.

Suyin slid one foot off the bed and onto the floor, listening to the palace activity with her seismic sense with her eyes closed and her head resting on Kya's shoulder. She gasped. "She's coming! Everybody, look natural!" Suyin whispered ecstatically, snuggling up tighter against Kya's body.

Lin folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Just through here, Miss," a male voice said, Miyoko's handler.

"Thank you, Rinjuk," the young lady replied, bowing to the escort who opened the door for her.

She was absolutely lovely. She had a heart shaped face with a little pointed chin, a small nose, and slanted, narrow eyes like her mother and maternal grandmother. Her face was framed perfectly by two long tendrils. Half of the remainder of her dark straight hair that fell past her waist was secured in a bun at the top rear of her head and decorated with a small, golden band with a red flame. She wore a halter top that exposed her tiny waist and not particularly muscular torso. She wore long, modest skirts with a sash that rested loosely on her gently sloping hips and was fastened with a brooch also bearing a flame, and lastly, on both arms, she wore golden bands that signified her wealthy upbringing.

She scanned the room with her amber eyes, before resting her gaze on her the Fire Lord, wearing casual, light pink robes for her vacation.

"Mother," Miyoko said, bowing low to a respectful ninety degrees.

"Yoko, how many times do I need to tell you, you do not need to bow to me?" Izumi reprimanded sternly.

Lin and Suyin, both mothers, noticed the flash of hurt across the young lady's face that she was quick to conceal.

"Forgive me, Mother. You also told me that such an exception only applied when we were in private, but now we've company," Miyoko replied, acknowledging the critical crowd.

"They are company, but they are also family now, so the exception applies," Izumi corrected her. Miyoko glanced sideways at her mother hesitantly, trying to read her emotions to know how to act in front of these strangers. "Yoko, you know Grandma Toph and Master Katara," Izumi said indicating the ancients before turning to the three women. "The earthbenders are your father's sisters, Lin and Suyin Beifong, and the waterbender is Lin's sister-in-law. Kya. We were all good friends way back when," Izumi introduced them.

"I like to think we're still all good friends," Kya jabbed. Izumi bit her lower lip to contain her discomfort.

"It really is a pleasure to meet all of you," Miyoko said bowing low and respectfully.

Suyin stood and smiled at the young woman. "Zumi, she's beautiful!" Suyin exclaimed, touching the girl's perfect hair.

Miyoko grimaced slightly at the contact, as if she wanted to run away but was trained to stay.

"And she's so polite!" Kya said walking around the girl, scanning her, up and down. Miyoko shifted uncomfortably, shrugging Suyin's hand off her shoulder, lifting her chin, and turning to her mother with pleading eyes to rescue her.

"Please, Su, Kya, she's just a girl! Not an exhibit," Izumi reminded them loudly.

"I know, she's just- perfect!" Suyin exclaimed.

"I can't believe she didn't burn Su on sight as soon as she got within five feet," Lin laughed from the opposite side of the room.

"I would have, but as I recall, roasting the Earth Queen would be a declaration of war the Fire Nation really doesn't need," Miyoko muttered quietly.

Everyone in the room laughed except the two Fire Nation ladies.

"Where have you kept such an intelligent beauty hidden?" Suyin asked Izumi with a wide smile.

"In plain sight to anyone who cared to go looking," Izumi replied plainly.

"Forgive me all, I'd love to remain and… talk… but I have projects due at the end of spring break, and would really like to get started on them sooner rather than later," Miyoko said to the group, taking a step back. "Excuse me."

"Not so fast," Lin said sliding her foot on the floor, blocking the door to the parlor with an earthen slab.

Miyoko turned around nervously.

"Lin, please let her go," Izumi requested fiddling her hands.

"We just want to get to know our new niece!" Suyin claimed.

"Yes! Please at least tell us about yourself, Miyoko," Kya asked.

Miyoko looked down for a moment and sighed before collecting herself and putting on a regal mask of composure that mirrored her mother exactly. "What would you like to know?" she asked with a voice clear and smooth as water.

"How old are you?"

"Are you a bender? If so, what element?"

"What are you studying in university?"

"What do you do on your free time?"

"I am nineteen years old, I am a firebender who vehemently despises violence and gore. I am studying political science, and on my free time, I do research and write articles for the column that my student group manages in the school newspaper," Miyoko answered dutifully.

"And what do you write about, primarily?" Suyin asked.

Izumi turned away.

"The necessary dissolution of the Fire Nation Monarchy," Miyoko replied.

 _Well, she's out. My greatest creation and greatest disgrace all wrapped into one beautiful, intelligent, and powerful young, girl,_ Izumi sighed. _There you have it, my precious daughter, youngest child, and last chance to do good in the world._

"Miyoko," Suyin started slowly. "You do realize your mother is the monarch?"

"She is still first and foremost, just my mother," Miyoko shot back aggressively, her eyes slanting into a dangerous glare. "And I, unlike some, can separate family from politics and not be blindsided by emotion." Miyoko growled before turning away from her aunts to face her mother. "Mother, if that is all, may I _please_ go?" she asked with a certain sadness and desperation in her voice.

"Yes, Love," Izumi answered quickly, firing lightning at the door to crack the earth for Miyoko to kick aside on her way out. She swung the door open to come face to face with a stunned Crown Princess Ursa.

"Princess!" Miyoko gasped falling to her knees, bowing dutifully.

Ursa looked down at the nineteen year old, the 'perfect' one who was 'so polite' and 'beautiful' and her _sister_.

"Princess forgive me," Miyoko begged, mixed feeling overwhelming her senses as she kept her gaze on the Princess's feet.

"Don't talk to me!" Ursa snapped before turning to her mother.

"Yoko, please get up," Izumi ordered.

Miyoko stayed down.

"Mother, how could you?" Ursa demanded, her voice cracking. "How could you hide them, hide HER from your true-born children?"

"Ursa, please understand. I didn't have a choice-" Izumi pleaded, taking a step towards the princess.

"You did!" Ursa yelled, her voice shrill with agony. "You've always had choices, Mother! How can you claim to not have a choice when you have absolute authority over an entire nation?! You were just ashamed and WEAK-"

"That's a lie! She is not weak! She's the STRONGEST woman that walks this Earth! If you had any idea what it's like to walk a wire above a pit FILLED with displeased progressives CONSTANTLY throwing all the sins of your forefathers in your face, conservatives RELENTLESSLY calling you a spineless puppet of foreign dignitaries, and Fire Sages WHORING you away to some far off governor for both national stability and the survival of the dynasty, you'd have a little more sympathy for our mother's situation!" Miyoko yelled at the Princess.

"I said, DON'T TALK TO ME!" Ursa yelled lashing out with blue fire before breaking into a run. Miyoko split it and took off after her.

"URSA!" Izumi shrieked taking off as well.

"Leave me alone!" Ursa yelled at both her mother and her sister.

"Princess, please!" Miyoko begged, reaching out to grab her wrist.

"Unhand me!" Ursa yelled turning, subconsciously generating lightning in her free hand and striking. Miyoko screamed, clutching her side. Fortunately, Ursa's aim was off in the heat of her rage, and the younger girl only sustained a minor injury, a deep graze, but it was close to her heart.

Ursa looked down at her Mother clutching the crying girl. Frightened by her own aggression, the Princess fled.

"YOU NEED to go to her! Tell her the truth and APOLOGIZE for lying!" Miyoko yelled at her mother.

"But you're hurt!" Izumi said touching the girl's wound.

"I'll be fine! Wounds can heal on their own but hearts won't! She's your daughter too! Stop playing favorites like Aunt Su!" Miyoko yelled with tears streaming down her eyes.

"Let me see it, child," Kya said, prying Miyoko's hand off her side and bending healing water to the surface of the skin.

Izumi took one last worried look at her baby and sprinted after her second youngest.

"There, there, child. This pain is only temporary," Lin said, scooping the youngest daughter of her best friend into her lap while she cried.

Suyin stayed back. _What did she mean when she said 'stop playing favorites like Aunt Su?'_

* * *

"Ursa! Ursa, open the door!" Izumi demanded, knocking violently. "Ursa, I've given you two days of space, you won't get anymore! If you don't open this door in five seconds, I am forcing entry!" Izumi yelled.

Five… Four… Three… Two… One…

Izumi stepped back and kicked it down with a foot full of blinding hot, blue fire.

"Ursa!-" but the room was empty. Room empty, curtains open, window agape.

"Ursa!" Izumi looked down and saw nothing but char marks in the grassy courtyard below where the girl likely used fire blasts to slow her landing.

"Genkei! Tadashi! Sunako! Lock down the palace! Seal all of the passages! Nobody leaves tonight until the Princess is found and brought to me!" Izumi ordered her personal guard before storming back to her friends and baby.

She turned the last corner down the last hall to see them all still huddled there, then turned away and kept walking, just out of sight, and fell to her knees, and cried, silently, for nobody could ever see the Fire Lord weeping. It was a display of weakness the family could not afford.

Lin, Suyin, and Toph all looked up simultaneously.

"She's near, isn't she?" Miyoko asked quietly, feeling the former Chief of police move.

"I'll go to her," Suyin said, jogging down the hall.

"Zumi?" Suyin asked, approaching the crumpled pink clad figure on the floor. Just then, the fire Lord's hair blazed full blue, and a dragon appeared out from under her in a flash of Light. Suyin jumped back.

"Zumi? Zumi! It's me! Your friend!" Suyin said as the dragon approached her, growling. "Your little sister from another mister!" the Earth Queen added as the flaming blue dragon got bigger. "The one who didn't know how to behave! The one you saved from the Triple Threats that one friday evening! Zumi!" Suyin shrieked as the dragon got ready to lunge. Suyin could feel the heat rising as the dragon grew.

Just then, a red dragon made of pure fire leapt over Suyin's shoulder and engulfed the blue one whole and Izumi hiccuped and fell stil, her fists clenched over her knees, her hair turned black again, and she turned to see Suyin with her hands up in surrender, still thoroughly bewildered, and beside her, Masaru looking down upon her with pity.

"I'm sorry," Izumi whispered.

"You shouldn't have sent the guards on a manhunt for the princess, Izumi," Masaru said.

"What should have I done?"

"Enlisted family. An earthbender. Suyin or Lin, even Kuto or Huifan would have sufficed. But the manhunt makes everything so public, so… demeaning-humiliating," Masaru said helping Izumi to her feet.

"She will never forgive me," Izumi whispered leaning into Masaru's body, welcoming his embrace.

Suyin eyed them both wearily. What were those- things… she wanted to ask, but would have to wait for a time when they weren't in such a devastating quandary.

Masaru eyed his youngest half sister, and as if he could read her mind, answered, "They were Izumi's Hurt, and my Anger. They're each other's greatest enemies."

* * *

At a Beifong Dinner in the Tigerdillo Dining Hall, Suyin, Lin and their families all gathered to feast. There was raucous laughter from Suyin's twins, and Lin's eldest son at one end of the one of the two tables, a heated debate between Opal, Xiaoyu, and Jinora against Jiexue, Huifan, and Ikki towards the middle of the table, and a silent game of glaring between Huan and Jinkun at the other end of the table.

Over at the adult's table, Toph sat observing the quiet, civil, and rather pleasant conversation that Lin and Tenzin were having with Baatar Sr. and Suyin who sat across from them.

"Aunt Toph," Izumi said, approaching the adult's table with caution.

"Zumi!" So kind of you to join us! Pull up a seat!" Toph said, sliding aside and kicking up an earthen stool for the Fire Lord to sit.

"Actually, I was just hoping to get a quick word with you privately before I go… tend to things. Forgive me for intruding on your family meal— I know I should have waited until after but—"

"Intruding on family?" Toph asked, slamming the earthen stool down with a heavy thud before standing and walking over to the shy Fire Lord. "Zumzu, stop apologizing for everything! You're going to be officially part of the family soon, so you better start acting like it! You're marrying MY SON, remember, girly?" Toph asked, knocking on Izumi's pale, grey-haired head.

The Fire Lord winced and leaned away. "Right, Forgive me-," Izumi said apologetically, adjusting the glasses on her face.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT APOLOGIZING?!" Toph yelled, silencing the room. "If I hear forgive me come out of your pretty little painted mouth one more time, I swear I'm going to metalbend your little crown into a the words "fuck you" and slap it over your face so that no one ever expects an apology from you ever again!" Toph threatened.

Izumi blinked and glanced at Suyin and Lin and in terror.

"I-" She stuttered. "I'll just come back later-" Izumi said turning to leave in tears.

"I- I'm sorry, Kid. I really didn't mean to scare you away, little dragon baby, I'm coming. Sorry for forgetting about your recent increase in sensitivity," Toph said, sliding off her chair and following Izumi from the room.

* * *

"So what's on your mind, girly?"

"I- I need advice. I have two girls from two different dragons who despise each other AND me and I don't want them to end up like Lin and Su, not speaking to each other or myself for DECADES! Toph, please-help me!" Izumi begged.

"If that's your problem, then I'm sorry but I can't be of any help. I don't know what my girl's problems were. I thought that by hiding their fathers from them, they would never know the pain of missing a wonderful human being that they could never meet. I thought that by being hard on them in bending practice, they'd develop a thick skin, but now they just resent me for my alleged cruelty. What I thought was letting them be free to explore themselves and their own passions, they interpreted as neglect and apathy. If there's anything I CAN tell you, Izumi is that being a mother isn't easy. You will do everything wrong because each child is different and there is no way of predicting how they will react to anything. Only one thing I think can be said for all children."

"What?"

"They want your love and attention."

"Ugh! I thought I _was_ giving them that but-"

"I thought that I was giving Lin and Su that too, but look what happened. Maybe you should talk to _them_ about what they felt they were lacking," Toph suggested.

"I will. Thank you, Aunt Toph for everything!" Izumi said, hugging the inventor of metalbending.

"Any time, Little Zumzu," Toph replied, relaxing slightly and returning the hug, albeit reluctantly.

* * *

Izumi waited until after the Beifong families finished their feast before approaching Lin and Suyin about her predicament. She found them alone walking back from the library a little while later.

"Zumi! How was your evening, other than that talk with mom?" Suyin inquired as positively as one could be in times like these.

"Dreadfully quiet," Izumi replied sadly.

"Been pacing in Azula's quarter?" Lin asked knowingly.

"How did you know?"

Lin lifted a bare foot for Izumi to see.

"I get why you like it. No guards go there." Lin replied.

"They're not allowed to," Izumi explained. "Would you care to join me? Sometimes it does get awfully lonely."

"Why do you spend so much time there and not with your family?" Suyin questioned.

"It's the only place I've ever had real privacy and been given space to just think. Now more than ever I need it," Izumi said, downcast as she walked with the sisters towards the usually vacant part of the castle. "I think I might have made a huge mistake."

"Things didn't turn out as you hoped?" Suyin asked.

"Thanks to Huifan," Izumi mumbled.

"Hey, don't put this on my daughter," Lin said warningly. "I agree that she had no right to intervene with your private affairs, but, as I have told you before, I don't think you should have kept your kids a secret from Iroh and Ursa."

"I know," Izumi sighed. "Which is why I wanted to ask for your advice. I have two girls from two different dragons that hate me and each other right now, and I don't want them-us-to end up how you did with Aunt Toph."

"And how do you think we can help with that?" Suyin asked, curious. Izumi was not one to ask for help, even when she desperately needed it.

"I was wondering-if it is not too painful, of course-if would you share with me the things you wish Toph did or didn't do. Maybe it could give me some insight on how my daughters might be feeling. I would ask them, but Ursa is still avoiding contact, and Yoko is just…difficult in times like these, like… she will let me into her room and just not speak for hours."

"A little love would have been nice," Lin shrugged.

"How do you show your children love? I always thought words meant nothing." Izumi asked.

"Give them the freedom of choice."

"But not too much or that is neglect."

"Don't compare them, and their abilities."

"Acknowledge their accomplishments and abilities."

"Don't criticize the little things."

"Can you be a little more specific, because I thought I was doing all of those things," Izumi told them.

"Well you're not—" Lin replied plainly.

"What Lin is trying to say is we noticed a couple of things when you introduced Yoko." Suyin clarified.

"As soon as she came in, the first thing you did was reprimand her for bowing to you. It's just a sign of respect. I know you just want her to know she can be casual and informal around you because you're her mother, but you could have talked to her about it later, in private and not so publically," Lin explained.

"Then what should I have done?" Izumi asked.

"A 'hello' probably would have been nice," Lin suggested.

"How was the exam?" Suyin said.

"How was the traffic?" Lin threw out.

"It seems so shallow!" Izumi yelled with frustration.

"It's not shallow! It shows that you have an interest in their daily lives and that you're not just looking out for their future and constantly trying to teach them a lesson." Lin said, slightly aghast. How on earth did Zumi grow up if she had to explain this?

"I think the biggest thing we wished our mother gave us, was time," Suyin concluded.

"Time?" Izumi asked.

"She was always missing dinner because of the night shift. Missing breakfast because she was asleep. Missing lunch because of the day shift. She took no interest in my dance recitals even after I told her that even though it is called a visual art, there's still movement and she would have been able to see with her feet."

"After you left the Flaming Moonbadgers, she decided our team was shit and stopped training with us so there went my five hours with her a week," Lin said, a slight bitterness in her voice.

"Really?"

"And I joined the Terra Triad hoping each day to be caught and arrested with the slim chance that they'd take me to my mother just so I could hear her say my name again," Suyin said wistfully. "At that point, it didn't matter what tone she said it in. I just missed her voice."

"I joined the police force hoping I could see her every day for more than an hour. It was a mistake because all she ever did was criticize how my methods were inefficient, my organization not sufficient, my treatment of inmates too….

But Izumi stopped listening.

* * *

" _Mama!" Yoko kicked the grills off the vent and jumped out with a couple licks of flames as she leapt into Izumi's arms._

" _Yoko! You shouldn't be so loud! Someone could hear you! If they knew—"_

" _I know, they'll take me away!" Yoko groaned, rolling her beautiful amber eyes. "But this is Azula's quarter!" She said more cheerfully. "You said no one is allowed to come but family, and family already knows about me so, what's the problem?"_

" _It's just not a good practice to come bursting out of the vents like that," Izumi sighed._

" _Oh," Yoko said, leaning on her mother's shoulder and looking on the grills on the floor sadly. "I just thought— never mind."_

" _Thought what, my love?"_

" _I just thought you'd be proud of how strong I have been getting. You told me how even by the time you were nine years old, you needed Father's help to kick out the grills and couldn't travel the vents alone. And I'm seven and kicked it out all on my own."_

" _I am proud of you, Love, and I'm glad you're getting stronger. I just— want you to be careful. I don't want to lose you." Izumi rubbed her back and smelled her hair before setting her down. "Now, I would love to stay, but I am already late to a meeting," she said, rushing off and leaving a dejected Yoko behind._

_She remembered now, the girl's face. She was heart broken, left standing in that hallway wearing her dirty little pillow case with dust, dirt, and grime on her face. Just left there, like an orphan with nobody. And the little girl sniffled._

* * *

_Another time, in the office her child appeared under her desk. "I've been waiting!" Yoko announced her presence excitedly._

" _Yoko! You gave me a heart attack!" Izumi gasped, clutching the arm of her chair._

" _I'm sorry!" the girl replied on the verge of tears, leaning away from her mother, and ducking back into the shadows under the desk, pressing her body against the dark cherry wood, tucking her knees into her chest. "I just missed you. It's been eight days since I've last seen you—" She whimpered looking down at the open vent and the hole in the ground. "But if I'm interrupting, I'll go," she said about to slip away into the vents again. "I don't want to be the cause of more stress or pain."_

" _No, Yoko! Come here! I have a few minutes before the next meeting." Izumi said reaching for her._

_Miyoko climbed up onto her lap and curled up._

" _So what did you want to talk about, my sweet?"_

" _I didn't want to talk," the girl responded wiping her eyes. "I just wanted you to see me. I know the world can't know I exist, but sometimes it feels like you forget too that I'm here, still living," Miyoko whispered leaning on her armor, but snaking her hand into her mother's robes to feel the warmth of her breast._

" _That's not true. I could never forget you," Izumi said, crestfallen that her daughter would believe that could happen._

_Never forget you…_

* * *

_Years later, Izumi went to Masaru's house to fetch her ten year old baby. Masaru looked angry with her._

" _Where's Yoko?" Izumi asked._

" _You missed it?"_

" _Missed what?"_

" _You missed our trip," Masaru said. "We were going to go as a family and you missed it,"_

" _There was an emergency session! I couldn't just leave."_

" _It was Yoko's turn to meet the DRAGONS!"_

_The sun warriors. The ritual. The dance. The eternal flame… Izumi ran up the stairs of Masaru's estate faster than her legs could carry her to find her daughter laying flat on her stomach with her face buried in the sheets._

" _Yoko! I'm sorry-"_

" _You're not!" She yelled lashing out with a green flame. "You say you are but you're not! If you were, things would change but they don't! So go away! I don't need you anymore! Just go— serve your country like a legitimate Princess and leave me!"_

" _Yoko!"_

" _Don't touch me!" She lashed out again but with a red flame. She sat with her back to her mother and her knees curled against her chest._

" _How was the ceremony at least?"_

" _Horrible. I thought I was going to die. I let the flame go out halfway up the final stairs to the lair. I thought they were going to roast me alive, and I wouldn't even get to say goodbye because you weren't even there," Miyoko cried._

" _Yoko—"_

" _I said DON'T TOUCH!" Miyoko leapt out of bed and across the room in one jump into a corner with her knees pulled tight and her hands out in front of her. Izumi couldn't believe what she was remembering. Why don't she do more then? Why didn't she stay and wait? Instead, she relented, and walked away._

" _She'll come around," Masaru told her._

_A few days later, Masaru asked Izumi if she'd seen the girl. No._

" _She left for the palace. Shortly after you returned. I thought she went to find you," Masaru said confusedly._

" _Well she didn't."_

" _She's been with me," Mai told Izumi later that evening. "She wanted to learn to be a proper princess for when you DO legitimize her. She wants to help lighten your load."_

" _Really? Why?"_

" _She misses you, Izumi,"_

" _She can come visit."_

" _A few minutes between meetings is not enough."..._

* * *

_Why didn't Izumi have as many memories with Ursa?_

" _We have decided it would be best if the Princess attended the Royal Academy for Girls like her predecessors." Miu told the Crown Princess one solemn afternoon._

" _No! You can't! She's too young! Only six years old! She needs me!"_

" _She needs friends her own age. Wasn't your primary complaint growing up that you were lonely?" the Fire Sages replied._

" _Where is she?" the Crown Princess demanded._

" _Already gone-"_

" _No, NO!" Izumi screamed and slammed her fists into the ground. Blue fire exploded destroying the ceilings and the walls of that part of the palace. She didn't move for hours at least, just grew the flames higher and higher, until Masaru came. Only he could endure the heat of her pain. He walked through fire and enveloped her body like a blanket and held her until her pain subsided._

_When Ursa returned, there were bruises on her body. "What is that?"_

" _Weakness leaving me," the girl recited dutifully._

_It took everything in Izumi's power not to destroy everything in a fit of rage._

" _Who did this to you?" She asked her daughter sternly._

" _Master Jiyu," Ursa replied expressionlessly as she took off her robes._

" _Ursa, listen to me. You don't have to listen to them. Being a warrior and being a princess is not always about enduring. It's not about being strong and smart and being able to judge right from wrong. Do you understand me?" Izumi asked._

" _Yes. I also understand that right and wrong are subject to different interpretations by multiple parties. And I don't have to listen to you either," Ursa said defiantly._

" _I beg your pardon?" Izumi gasped. "I am your mother!"_

" _Master Jiyu says you're a traitor to the Fire Nation." Ursa replied smoothly._

" _I'm the traitor? Ursa, you listen very carefully. MY father, your grandfather is the Fire Lord and I am the Crown Princess. Together, WE ARE the the Fire Nation and anyone who opposes us is a traitor," Izumi asked. "ESPECIALLY your teachers who dare try to turn you against us."_

" _Hm." the girl said, disinterested._

" _We fight for peace, Ursa. There is no glory in imperialism. Only subjugation, death, and misery. What they want is to have more subjects upon which they can exercise their sadistic tendencies. What they fail to remember is to that into reestablish an empire would require sending thousands of men as young as you to death in a massacre overseas. Fire is not destruction. It is life and as keepers of the Fire Nation, your grandfather and I work tirelessly to preserve exactly that. If your teachers continue to be impediments to our progress by trying to brainwash you to be their puppet, they will be eliminated. It is a small sacrifice for lasting peace."_

* * *

" _Almost perfect, just one hair out of place," Izumi said later, to Ursa, on holiday._

" _Almost isn't good enough!"_

" _You know, as much as you don't want to be, you're exactly like me when I was your age. So eager to please while at the same time perfectly at ease with rebelling," Izumi said stone faced while looking down at her grumpy daughter._

" _I hate the academy!"_

" _Then don't go. I won't make you, and you're strong enough to fight whoever tries to make you return. It's not needed at this point anyways."_

" _Really?"_

" _I never went and I'm still breathing." Izumi said, shrugging._

" _Then how did you make friends?"_

" _My mother took me to Republic City when I was thirteen and I made acquaintances with the children of her old friends," Izumi replied._

" _Do they have any children?"_

" _Actually, Lin does, let me see if I can arrange a meeting," Izumi told her princess._

_And so she and her daughter teamed up against the Fire Sages. Ursa got to travel back and forth to Republic City, Ember Island and home. She was free. Or at least Izumi thought she was._

" _Mother, come with me," Ursa begged before embarking on another one of her adventures to some far off land._

" _I'm sorry, love, I'm busy. Maybe another time," Izumi replied and walked away through the secret tunnel to Masaru's estate without even asking about the Princess's most recent trip to the City._

* * *

" _Where's Yoko?"_

" _School."_

" _School? If someone knows—"_

" _They won't. She bears my name. It would be impossible to trace her to you."_

" _But school this late in the day?"_

" _She joined the orchestra and the kuai ball team. She stays late most days."_

" _Why didn't you tell me?" Izumi said angrily._

" _We did. Months ago, you've just been busy."_

" _Saru- I,"_

" _No, don't apologize. We understand your priorities."_

" _You know in a heartbeat, I'd give it all away for another moment with family," Izumi said solemnly_

" _But you don't…"_

* * *

"Zumi? ZUMI!" Lin screamed.

"Get back! Last time the heat rose like this, her hair turned blue she made a dragon that tried to kill me!" Suyin warned her blood sister pulling her away from the distressed Fire Lord.

"I'm sorry," Izumi said falling from her knees into her behind, clutching her chest, suppressing sobs. "It's just—"

"Memories," Lin said knowingly.

Izumi nodded and covered her mouth as tears streamed silently from her eyes.

"Just let it out, Zumi. Stop trying to be so perfect all the time." Lin said.

"I've been a terrible mother to them!"

"You haven't been terrible. You just tried to do what was best and got a little carried away, that's all," Suyin replied.

"Even if you've been a terrible mother, which I highly doubt, it's never too late to reach out again and try to make amends," Lin said, kneeling before her burning friend. Izumi looked at Lin with worry. "Deep breaths, you'll be fine. They'll be fine. We'll all get through this. Don't worry…" Lin said patiently. Izumi took deep slow breaths and cooled down.

Just then they heard footsteps and Masaru came running. "I felt a flare! Is everything alright?" He asked. He was shirtless and covered in sweat with a couple minor burns and bruises from sparring somebody.

"Everything's fine," Izumi said, taking Lin's hand to prove she wasn't still burning. Lin helped her up. "Actually, can you tell our children dinner tomorrow night in the Cherry Blossom Galley? Iroh and Ursa included?"

"Of course. Anything else you need?" Masaru asked.

"A night with you," Izumi replied letting go of Lin's hand to reach for Masaru.

"Of course. I'll see you later."

"Where were you just now?" Izumi asked Masaru curiously.

"Sparring room. The boys were all down there with Wing and Wei and Hungjian. Then Huifan and Jiexue showed up with the kiddos and then Huifan volun-told her father to fight me and—,"

"Tenzin consented to a duel?"

"Yeah," Masaru replied. "After a little light persuasion from Bumi."

"Oma-Shu!" Suyin exclaimed.

"You should join us. It's fun to watch at least, if you don't want to get dirty," Masaru shrugged.

"Get dirty? I'm always down for a fight, you know that," Lin laughed, rolling up her sleeves.

"Great! Zumi, do you want to come?" Suyin asked.

"Sure. It will give me time with the boys. I don't get to see them often now that they're grown." Izumi shrugged, thinking about her girls.

* * *

Rikuto was sparring Huifan with Toph egging both of them on while their families watched.

"Hey Mom!" both Huifan and Rikuto yelled in unison, before stunning themselves with their shared seismic capabilities and laughing.

"Hey, no laughing! What kind of fight is this?!" Meelo yelled impatiently.

"Sorry, Kid!" Rikuto said, striking Huifan in the rib. She flexed just in time and shattered the rock with her muscle before cartwheeling to the side and kicked.

"Kuto! Her left ankle has been broken before! If you keep aiming there, it may break again!" Tetsuya yelled with a smile.

"You know you're really starting to annoy me with your insufferable knowledge of everything!" Huifan yelled over the commotion, splitting her attention for a second to send a rock towards Izumi's twins, aiming at the frighteningly intelligent one. They parted to let the rock smash into the wall behind them and smiled.

"I don't remember Huifan ever breaking any bones," Lin commented, raising a brow curiously as she stood next to the Fire Lord, both now wearing plain tank tops and loose pants cinched at the waist and ankles.

"I do. I broke it," Izumi replied. Lin turned to her with disbelief. "It was in the arena at the Beifong estate. Kya and I were fighting Huifan two on one and Kya distracted her so I could get close enough for hand to hand combat and I kicked her in the leg. Fa-ni said you'd get mad at her and me, so Kya healed it before you returned from baking pineapple bread."

Just then there was a crack and a yelp and Huifan fell on her left hip. Rikuto snapped her ankle with an angled jut of rock out of the ground just as she lifted her right leg to kick.

"Yes! Does this mean I win?" Rikuto asked, turning to their grandma who was acting as referee. Just then a rock hit him in the back of the head, but not hard enough to knock him out, but enough for him to notice and whirl around and see Huifan standing on one strong right leg.

"I can do without!" the prodigy said with a devilish grin. She dropped onto her hands and shoulders, spinning like Izumi did when she sparred Huifan back in the day, kicking up dirt, pebbles and small rocks into a swirling tornado of sorts. She chased Rikuto around the arena hobbling on one leg until Rikuto tripped on someone's gym bag and fell over and she jumped on him, knocking the air out of his body with a satisfied grin.

"I WIN, GRANNY!" Huifan yelled, looking up at Toph for approval as everyone laughed.

"I told you she wouldn't kill him, Zumi!" Toph said with a holey grin.

"Alright, I believe you," Izumi sighed, forcing a smile.

"So who's going next?" Meelo asked.

"Saru, Agni Kai?" Izumi asked, unfolding her arms with a shrug. There were two things that Izumi found relaxing, meditating, and firebending; and kicking Saru's ass was always very high on the list of things that made her happy.

"Are you going to chi block me?" Masaru asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"I did that ONCE! ONCE Saru, and with good reason!" Izumi replied.

"What was it?"

"The Fire Sages wanted to take my only daughter away to be trained by some warlord. I protested. They called me weak, young, and inexperienced. So father hosted a tournament so I could prove my proficiency in firebending, and you were the only one who ALMOST beat me!"

"Almost? I DID beat you!"

"You backhanded me!"

"AFTER you chi-blocked me!"

"You still—"

"It's over now! Just go to the other end of the ring and we'll settle this once and for all, my sweet temperamental lady." Masaru ordered pointing.

"I'm not a lady, I'm a **_LORD_**!" Izumi grumbled kicking a bamboo stick off the ring. "As you never fail to remind me!"

"I think it's cute when he tells her what to do," Rikuto said to Hungjian as he drank some water and poured some on his head to cool down.

"I think it's cute when anyone tells your mother what to do," Hungjian replied.

Izumi bent low and did a sweeping arch kick creating a wall of blue fire, sustaining it. She then wrapped it like a giant fabric around Masaru. He broke through it with a red sphere and she flew out of the sky in a mass of blue fire and white lightning. He rolled to the side and sent a few monstrous jabs her way that she intercepted and pierced with her own first blasts.

"Mom doesn't fight us like that," Tatsuya whimpered jealousy.

"She doesn't think we can handle it," Tetsuya replied, smiling.

"I don't think I've seen that kind of fire power since Sozin's comet seventy five years ago," Katara said to Toph. "When Zuko fought Azula with the celestially-enhanced bending."

"These two know their own elements better than anyone in the world," Toph replied proudly.

Masaru and Izumi reached a stalemate. The blue and the red met in the middle, fighting for dominance over the other. Masaru's back was towards the children, Izumi's towards a wall. All of their energy went into the flame. Sweat beaded on both of their bodies.

"They're strong," Katara commented.

"You have no idea," Toph replied, having seen things in the swamp throughout the years that nobody else would believe.

The ground splintered. Saru's leg slipped but he kept his grip on his fire blast.

"Is it just me or are they burning up all of the oxygen in the room?" Xiaoyu asked, starting to wheeze, worried.

"I got you," Jiexue said, creating a bubble around herself and her cousins and siblings.

Lightning broke free from the flames and cracked the walls. Both Izumi and Masaru watched as the energy started destroying things. Still, neither let go.

Finally, there was the sound of an explosion and Izumi was thrown up and back against the opposite wall. She fell and rolled onto all fours.

"I FORFEIT!" she gasped, panting on the ground.

"Forfeit? I didn't know 'forfeit' was in a Fire Lord's vocabulary," a newcomer said with mild amusement. Izumi turned to come face to face with a white haired ancient with a burn mark on his face.

"Father!" she exclaimed, jumping into his arms.

"Uncle!" Masaru ran over and threw his arms around Izumi and Zuko.

"Sparky came!" Toph yelled, walking over slowly with Katara.

"I wouldn't miss my own daughter's wedding!" he explained, patting Izumi on the back. "You've been over-exerting yourself, my sweet girl," Zuko said, running his fingers through her still-blue-streaked hair.

"Oh, sorry!" Izumi said blushing. It turned grey again.

"Mother, what is it that makes your hair change?" Rikuto asked, dabbing his neck with a wet cloth.

"Nothing that you need to worry about," Izumi replied quickly, changing the subject. "Father, how has the Jasmine Dragon been doing?"

"Great, thank you for asking, Zumi!" Zuko responded positively.

 _Show interest!_ Izumi reminded herself. _And don't shut them down._ Izumi turned back to Rikuto who appeared to have already forgotten his question and was deep in conversation with Wing and Wei about building a power disc court in the castle and playing with Hungjian and Huifan later. Maybe she should have answered him. But her inner fire was a potentially dangerous power even she was still trying to understand and control that her family successfully kept hidden for decades, but she was breaking and more and more family members were noticing.

"Okay everybody! Family feast in the Dragon Ballroom tomorrow for lunch, then Lees will be taking dinner in the Cherry Blossom Galley, Kuto, if you're going to play power disk with your cousins, please bathe before attending," Masaru added to his earthbending son.

"Sure thing, Father!" Rikuto said, waving a hand.

* * *

"Knock knock," came a vaguely familiar voice through Miyoko's door the next morning.

"Who is it?" Miyoko called from her desk.

"Your Aunt Kya. May I come in, Sweetie?" Kya asked kindly. "I'm alone," the waterbender added just in case the girl was still angry about yesterday.

"Yes you may, and thank you for knocking," Miyoko said, setting her pen down.

"Does your mother not knock?" Kya asked curiously, standing behind Miyoko waiting patiently, giving the girl time to warm up to her presence.

"Sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't," Miyoko shrugged. She didn't seem bothered by it. "You see, she grew up without doors to her room. The authorities claimed it was a safety precaution. No one could sneak in through the window and trap her there. Really it was just so Grandma Mai and Iliana could come and go as they pleased. Mother has since installed doors on all of our rooms to give us some semblance of privacy, but I can tell it's hard for her to remember that when she comes to visit."

"I remember meeting your mother when I was twelve. She was thirteen when she came to Air Temple Island for the first time. She was so quiet,maybe even timid. My mother later told me that Aunt Mai brought her because she was worried because your mother never smiled, the poor thing!"

"Why?" Miyoko asked, intrigued, having never heard the story of her mother's first time on Air Temple Island.

"My guess, the posture correction corsets they had her wearing. That and the incessant demand for formalities and perfection. Could you imagine it? Someone younger than Jinora bowing to an insignificant, even younger girl like me!"

"You're not insignificant, Aunt Kya. You're the Avatar's daughter," Miyoko replied, reminding Kya of her status in the world.

"But I was still _just_ a girl. I didn't ask for fame or glory when I was born. I didn't ask for status or a legacy to uphold. I took my time to play and grow and stepped up when I could, but I still lived my own life. You can too. Whether or not you become a princess shouldn't change you, Miyoko. You're still just a girl. But you're also the Fire Lord's daughter and that will never change. It's who you are," Kya said.

Miyoko considered it for a minute.

"You're right," she sighed. "Was that the only reason you came here? To try to change my mind?" Miyoko asked.

"No," Kya laughed. "I wanted to check on that burn you got yesterday. How is it feeling?" Kya asked nodding to the wound on Miyoko's abdomen.

"Still tender," Miyoko replied coming over and lifting her arm for the healer to see. Kya worked the water around it for a few minutes loosening some of the scar tissue and taking away some of the scab and healing the raw flesh underneath.

"Do you always leave your midriff uncovered?" Kya asked, noting the girl's style. She liked halter tops and long skirts and leaving her flat stomach exposed.

"Not in the South Pole," Miyoko replied. "But here, it's just so hot!"

"You've been to the South Pole?" Kya asked, truly surprised that such a sheltered girl had been so far from home.

"Once, when I was nine. I didn't understand legitimacy then. Mother was so busy dealing with the tribes. I thought, since she was a princess, and I was her daughter, then I was a princess too and could help her. I thought I could handle the Southern Tribe while she went to the North and we could go at the same time so when we returned to the Fire Nation we could relax for half of the original time allocated to the diplomatic ventures," Miyoko explained.

"What happened when she found out?" Kya asked.

"I'm not sure she ever did," Yoko confessed.

Kya's brows furrowed. "Didn't anybody here notice you were gone?"

"I had Grandma Mai's blessing. She's the best alibi and made sure no one came looking for me."

"So what did you do in the South Pole?"

"First, I got into my mother's notes and to-do list and took some stuff off of it. I got to meet Varrick and Zhu Li AND the Southern Water Tribe's equivalent of a Defense Minister and negotiate the sale of a dozen decommissioned empire class battleships-"

"You're SURE she didn't notice?" Kya said disbelievingly.

"Come to think of it, she was at odds with grandmother for a few weeks after that, but she never did speak to me about it. And Grandmother never did approve of my requests to go again," Miyoko thought pensively.

"You really are something else, Yoko," Kya laughed, amused.

"What? I'm surprised Huifan didn't sneak out to try to help with Amon or Kuvira."

"I guess she figured the easiest way to put her mother's mind at ease was by following orders and staying safe." Kya mused thoughtfully.

"I didn't want to put my mother's mind at ease. I wanted my mother WITH me," Miyoko explained.

"Don't we all?" Kya said, stowing away the water and wrapping her arms around the young Fire Nation lady.

"I know it was selfish of me," Miyoko said sadly.

"No. It's not. We all want time with our mothers. Hell, I moved my whole life to the South Pole after my father passed for more time with my mother before—you know what I mean."

"Aunt Kya?" Miyoko asked, leaning her head on her aunt's breast. The fabric was softer than her mother's leather ceremonial armor.

"Yes?"

"Do you have any secrets we don't know about?" Miyoko asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Having secret children seems to be an omnipresent thing among the company you keep."

Kya laughed. "I don't, Yoko. Don't worry."

"What if I told you seismic sense wasn't the only way to tell if someone's lying?"

"I'd say you're bluffing," Kya chuckled, stroking her hair.

Miyoko smiled sweetly. "I am, but most people get intimidated and start spilling everything before I even have the chance to ask a follow up question."

"It's a clever tactic." Kya commented.

"Mhm," Miyoko closed her eyes and just sat in Kya's arms for a long while, just feeling the warmth of another body, listening to the waterbending master's heartbeat.

"You get lonely," Kya realized. It wasn't a question.

"You have no idea," Miyoko whispered, sniffling.

Kya felt bad for Miyoko. She was the baby of the family, and by Kya's guesses an unplanned baby at that. It must have been so hard on the girl getting lost in the shuffle. Thank the Spirits she wasn't the baby of the family.

Izumi's youngest daughter sighed, not sure what else to say. As the daughter of Masaru Lee, everyone assumed that she had been spoiled rotten, yet that could not have been further from the truth. Sure, all of her needs were addressed and then some, but she never saw her mother. Her mother had been older when she had given birth to her; however, since Izumi concealed her daughter's existence the Fire Nation ministers, generals, and Sages all kept the Crown Princess busy as they assumed all her children were grown. As such, Miyoko lived hidden away from everyone. Even in her own home she hid from the palace guards, having to climb through ventilation shafts just to see her mother. Everyone had been aghast that Lin had hidden six children away from the world, but they had been as free as ring-tailed flying lemurs compared to her. Everyone probably assumed Miyoko must have been spoiled, but by that age, nobody expected the crown princess to have a young child, so they kept Izumi busy. Miyoko lived hidden. Even in her own home she had to hide from the guards, climb through the vents just to see her parents. She was an even bigger secret that Lin's six children.

After a few minutes of silence, with Miyoko and Kya's hearts beating in time, the young lady stood abruptly. "I'm sorry for keeping you so long. It was selfish of me," Miyoko said finally, wiping away any evidence of any hurt or pain and quickly returning to her desk where she sat as rigid as Izumi was when Kya first met current Fire Lord.

"Don't apologize for being human and having basic needs," Kya said, walking over and wrapping her arms around the young lady, surprising her. "You needed a hug, and I love giving them," Kya explained. She ran her hand through Miyoko's hair and kissed the top of her head before heading to the door, sensing the girl was done with her.

"Where will you go?" Miyoko asked turning.

"To make sure the Beifong sisters don't kill the ugly turtle-duckling."

Miyoko laughed. "Is that what you're calling my mother since she's marrying in?"

"Maybe," Kya snickered. "Are you going to stay here?"

"Most likely," Miyoko replied.

"Okay, well when you're hungry there's a feast happening for everyone at lunch in the Dragon Ballroom." Kya said, a reassuring smile on her lips.

"Thank you, but I'll probably just raid the kitchens later. I'm used to dining alone."

"Well you won't have that option just this evening. I heard a rumor of a mandatory engagement in the Cherry Blossom Galley for all of the Lees," Kya said conspiratorially.

"Great, I suppose I'll have to go then," Miyoko muttered, smiling at Kya. "Thank you for coming and checking up on me."

"Any time. My home base has been…I don't know what it's called, but the creepy guys dressed in black with the amber armbands—"

"The Amber League," Yoko said reflexively.

"They seem to know where everybody is at all times so."

"That is true, if I need you, they'll come looking."

"Have a nice day, Miyoko!"

"And you, Aunt Kya!"


	8. Cherry Blossom Galley

The Cherry Blossom Galley was one of the brighter rooms in the Palace. It was one of Fire Lady Illah's additions during Sozin's reign and was absolutely stunning. The walls were covered in a paper with cherry blossom trees painted in it making it look look like one were dining in an orchid. One of the three walls were made of windows from the floor to the ceiling with double doors that opened up to a large balcony with two cherry blossom trees in planter boxes, each with a bench underneath for someone to go out to enjoy the breeze on the balcony overlooking the expansive gardens of the palace.

Masaru was the first to arrive and found the staff still setting the table.

"Would you like any drinks sir, while you wait?" one of the attendants asked the owner of Earthen Fire Refineries.

"No thank you, I'll hold off until everyone arrives," Masaru replied politely, walking out to the balcony. In the distance, he saw a brand new power disk arena had been set into one of the stone courtyards. He could hear Suyin's twins battling Huifan and Hungjian. It felt nice to have the space to accommodate everybody; while he easily host everyone at his estate, Izumi needed to be at the Palace. She couldn't "get away" easily, and he would follow her anywhere she needed him to.

"How have you been, Uncle Saru?" A familiar voice asked.

"Iroh!" Masaru clapped the man on the back. "How has the United Forces been treating you?"

"Well enough. Got my own army of about ten thousand men. Sent a couple of regiments to the Si Wong Desert last week to assist the Earth Kingdom Army with shutting down another black market trade route. I swear, Uncle, every time we break one up, a new one arises just a few miles away."

Masaru chuckled. "That's how it happens. As my mother used to say, though the names may change, the streets always stay the same."

"She couldn't be more right," Iroh said, smiling.

"Did you just get in?"

"This afternoon, but I've been held up at the Naval base until just now. My handler told me the dinner was mandatory so-"

"Not mandatory, but we wanted to get all of you kids together for a family dinner."

"Really?" Iroh's eyes lit up. "Everybody? Kuto and Suke and the others?"

"Yes!"

"Sweet! Wait! Did you tell Ursa yet?"

"She…. kind of found out from Huifan."

"Oh no," Iroh grimaced. His sister was possibly one of the most inflexible people he had ever met; to find out that her mother possessed an entirely different family must have thrown her for a loop, to put it mildly.

"We'll try to talk things out this evening and hopefully have some proper introductions," Masaru explained.

"How is Mother faring with everything?"

"Well enough. She actually took a week off from work and left Kei-Lo in charge so she can spend time with everybody. You know, my sisters are here too with their families."

"Lin and Su? Damn, Uncle! It must be absolute chaos in the family right now with so many Beifongs!"

"Only in the training room. Fortunately the palace is big enough to not notice the havoc the cousins are wreaking."

Iroh laughed. "This is going to be a VERY interesting week."

"Heh, yeah," Masaru said.

"Iroh!" a voice behind them called.

"Suke!" Iroh turned and clapped hands with the lawyer before leaning in for a half-hug and a pat on the back.

"Iroh!"

"Kuto!" Iroh said doing the same to the earthbender who entered. Iroh looked up to see two new men he'd never seen before. "You must be the twins!" Iroh said positively.

"Tetsuya, my Prince," the one with free hair said, bowing.

"Tatsuya, my Prince," the one with the ponytail added, also bowing.

"Cut the formalities, we're brothers!" Iroh said embracing them both at the same time. "Your names sound so familiar. Amber League?" Iroh asked.

They both smiled. "You're well read on internal affairs for a foreign general," Tetsuya commented with a smirk.

"Was that meant to be an insult?" Iroh asked. "I may be a foreign general, but I am also the Crown Prince of this nation! Of course I know the structure and leadership of the Amber League!"

"Of course you do," Tetsuya nodded.

"Iroh, you're here!" a girl said with surprise.

"Ursa! Sister!" Iroh ran up to her sister, enveloping her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Uh… Bro, I can't breathe," Ursa grumbled through his jacket patting him on the back.

"Oh! Right, sorry. I just missed you sooooooo much!" Iroh exclaimed, releasing her.

"Uncle Saru, do we have assigned seating?" Iroh asked with one arm protectively around his sister.

"Nope! Sit wherever," Masaru replied from the balcony, walking in.

"Here, I'll sit next to you," Iroh said, pulling out a chair for his sister as everyone else sat down.

"Sorry for being… almost late," a sweet voice called, glancing quickly at a clock on the wall.

Iroh stood to see a young lady drop to one knee.

"Prince Iroh!" she addressed him.

"Uncle, why are all of your children bowing to me?" Iroh asked, turning to Masaru.

"They know their place," Masaru replied. "Until they're legitimized, they must show the proper respect to people of your standing."

"It's sad don't you think," Iroh asked Ursa.

Ursa averted her gaze.

Iroh shrugged it off and turned back to the young lady. "Please rise, and tell me your name, sister."

"Miyoko," the girl said, standing. He noticed the wound on her side immediately.

"You've been hurt! When did that happen?" Iroh exclaimed, motioning to it.

"It's nothing!" Miyoko mumbled, quickly covering it with her hand and hurrying to the other side of the table to sit between Tetsuya and Rikuto.

"So you haven't met everyone either?" Ursa asked Iroh as he sat down.

"Not the twins or Miyoko." Iroh replied, pulling his chair in and placing a napkin in his lap.

"Had you heard of them?" Ursa added.

"I had my suspicions but never pressed. I was so busy at boot camp, that it almost didn't matter. As long as Mother and Uncle were happy, I was happy," Iroh replied. "Speaking of mother, where is she?" Iroh asked, turning expectantly to Masaru.

"Right here, sorry! Fell asleep meditating," Izumi replied, hurrying in. Rikuto snorted, accidentally spilling his drink.

"Just in time!" Takeo commented.

"With a minute to spare!" Sasuke added.

"Wait! Where's Taemon?" Izumi asked quickly scanning the table.

"Sorry! I confess it. I forgot completely!" the handsome adopted son of Masaru and Izumi said, rushing in to take a seat between Tatsuya and Izumi towards the end of the table.

Izumi and Saru both stood, looked around at each other and then sat down. Izumi glanced at Miyoko and then Ursa, and let out a sigh of relief that they both came.

"Mother, what's troubling you?" Iroh asked as the servers placed the first dish out for everyone to taste.

"Yeah! I don't think I've ever seen you this unhappy, Ma." Rikuto said shoving the entire seaweed wrapped ball of roe in his mouth, making Izumi instantly regret letting Toph take over his training from the age of ten. His table manners were nonexistent.

Miyoko thought the same thing, raising an eyebrow at the grown man's full mouth and empty plate while nobody else had yet to touch their first course.

"Oh I have, it was not fun!" Iroh said.

"Was it the time she found out the Minister of Finance almost lost a third of the national treasury?" Takeo asked before picking one of the large eggs up with his chopsticks and slipping it into his mouth after finishing his sentence.

"It was worse than that, but that definitely was a moment. I swear she was going to exile his family back three generations and acquiesce all of his lands and properties to replenish the supply!" Iroh laughed, taking his first bite.

"That's not funny!" Miyoko growled. The table fell silent. "That is an abuse of power."

"Abuse of power? Spending national funds to gamble on probending is an abuse of power. Those funds were supposed to go to things like your precious university," Ursa shot back.

"Excuse me? A significant amount of the funds come from alumni!" Yoko shot back.

"For someone so well educated, it is shocking to not know that's a lie! 89% of the funds come from the national treasury, from Mother!" Ursa replied, her voice raising.

"She's partially right about that. The portion of funds went up to 93% when you started attending," Tetsuya added, quietly taking a sip of cactus juice.

"Really?" Miyoko asked. _Mother would do that for me?_

"Enough! Can we just not talk about politics or the past for the time being and just focus on the present?" Izumi asked, her head pounding.

"What's wrong, Mum?" Rikuto asked.

"I'm just a little anxious, I guess. It's always been a dream of mine to be able to bring you all together, but-it's just not at all how I imagined it," Izumi confessed.

"Sorry we're not all perfect," Miyoko muttered, looking sideways at Ursa.

"Excuse me?!" Ursa yelled, standing up staring straight at Miyoko.

"Will you two QUIT IT?!" Izumi yelled standing up, cracking a blue fire whip across the table, her hair streaking blue for an instant. Ursa fell back into her seat.

"Zumi, go to bed." Masaru ordered low and sternly.

"What?" Izumi asked looking up at him. All of their children turned to him looking just as appalled that he had the gall to give the Fire Lord, the highest authority in their country a direct order that a parent would give a child.

"You heard correctly, Izumi. Go to bed. You're done here," Masaru replied finishing his last egg and dabbing his mouth gently.

Izumi took one last look at him, and their children and swept out, pink skirts swirling around her.

"But she barely made it past the first course," Rikuto said sadly. "Father, what if she starves?" Rikuto asked.

"She'll probably raid the kitchens on her way to her room," Masaru replied taking a sip of wine.

"I wish I could just raid the kitchen and go to bed." Miyoko added.

Masaru pretended not to hear.

"Uncle, did you just-" Iroh began to ask.

"-Send the most powerful woman in the Fire Nation to bed? Yes. I don't mean to guilt you, but your recent behavior has been breaking your dear mother," Masaru said to the girls. Out of the corner of his eye, Masaru saw Tetsuya and Taemon exchange a glance that he didn't like at all, but didn't have the time to deal with it then. "I know you're mad at her for keeping her secrets, but can you at least try to put yourself in her shoes? She grew up spending at least half of every day in misery, being controlled down to the last fifteen second mark. She's done everything she could to try to recover her own happiness and provide all of you with your own-"

"Then why doesn't she just do that? We were happy before we knew each other existed," Ursa asked.

"And before we had the prospect of being crowned princes looming over our heads," the twins muttered.

"Speak for yourself. You didn't grow up having to crawl through grates to see Mother," Miyoko mumbled.

"Are you saying you want to be crowned?" Ursa asked.

"No, that is by far the worst that could happen, but I wouldn't mind not having to live in the shadows," Miyoko replied.

"Then why doesn't mother let you run free? Why does there have to be any ceremony? Any name change or coronation? If Mother has absolute rule as of now, why can't she just give her middle finger to the world and do us do what we want without wearing crowns, or becoming world-renowned?" Taemon asked shrugging.

"Maybe because organizations like Miyoko's threaten that absolute rule if Mother dares to do anything remotely personal."

"We're not that extreme!" Miyoko yelled.

"Oh really? I had Genkei sift through the archives for me. I know all about your various escapades waving signs calling for her HEAD!" Ursa shrieked.

"My Mother and the Fire Lord are SEPARATE entities-"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Ursa growled. "You're nothing but a traitor!"

"A traitor and a dissident are two completely different things!"

"Enough, you two!" Masaru yelled. "Your lives have been easy but you must respect your mother's decision and play your role in this family by acknowledging that you're a part of it whether you like it or not—"

"Isn't that how Grandfather and the Grandmother and the Fire Sages justified mother's marriage to our father?" Iroh asked.

"And put us all in this difficult situation? So that SHE could play her part in her family at the expense of the next generation?" Ursa asked.

"Ursa-" Masaru sighed, rubbing his head.

"Don't try to lecture me on family! You're not my father and I will not be cast aside-"

"You're not being cast aside! The hierarchy states-" Sasuke began to say logically like the analytical lawyer he was.

"According to Genkei, you don't even WANT to be Fire Lord!" Miyoko interrupted.

"And you do?"

"No! I thought Takeo—"

"Woah!" Takeo put his hands up. "Don't bring me into this!"

"Guys! No one wants to be Fire Lord, face it! It's probably the second shittiest job in the world-" Rikuto interjected, shoving an entire dumpling into his mouth.

"What's the first?" Sasuke asked.

"Chief Of Police Of Republic City. Grandma's told me all about the bureaucracy and now, the Chief has to deal with a city council AND a president of the URN," Rikuto answered.

"Spirits bless my poor sister," Masaru muttered. He had dealt with the old council, and the last president a few times regarding business contracts in the URN. Those meeting ranked amongst the worst he ever had to attend, and that was saying something.

"Well Mom has to deal with the council of generals AND the council of ministers," Miyoko opposed.

"But Mom can veto their proposals. She's not just a soldier," Rikuto replied, raising his glass.

"For someone who grew up naked in a swamp, you're awfully educated!" Miyoko said suspiciously.

"For someone who is attending university, you're awfully not," Rikuto said with his elbow on the table, leaning forward smugly.

Miyoko stood and lit a hand ablaze with red fire.

Rikuto metalbent a knife into a strip around her wrist pinning her to the wall behind her.

"No bending at the table! You're all legal adults and yet you're acting like children now that you're together!" Masaru groaned.

"So do you and your friends even though you're like in your fifties and sixties!"

Masaru could see why Izumi was greying and it definitely wasn't a result of the daily politics. He barely resisted the urge to drink the entire bottle of cactus juice in front of him.

"You know what?" Masaru yelled over all of them. "See this?" He pulled a necklace out of his coat and tore it right off his throat. "The unless you have it, you're not talking. You're all going to tell me why you are or are not opposed to being publicly recognized as part of this family. Who is first?" Masaru asked.

"Me!" Rikuto called. Masaru tossed him the heavy necklace. The crimson ribbon flying across the room.

"Oooohhh! Nice alloy! I love titanium with chrome and gold plating!" the only earth and metalbender in the fire family said, testing its balance.

"Please just answer the question Kuto," Masaru said impatiently.

"I want to be legitimized. I think it would be a good stick in the eye for all those racist extremists who wanted Ma to marry a pure-blooded fire boy. The world is evolving and other nations have become more accepting of other races living among them. If they see the Fire Lord being as accepting, maybe they will be more inspired to do the same!" Rikuto said.

"May I respond to that?" Tetsuya asked.

"Sure, brother," Rikuto said, throwing the medallion.

The twin of Tatsuya caught it. "You say that the Fire Lord tolerated your presence, but you don't tolerate hers so I don't understand the statement you're trying to make to the extremists. You ran away when you were ten and revoked your citizenship to live life as a hermit in a cave with your grandmother. You're just as much a traitor as the original Iroh was," Tetsuya replied.

"Which is to say, I wasn't one," Rikuto responded.

"Tetsuya! We do not call family members traitors! Rikuto went through a phase, as we all have might I add, but he's back now," Masaru scolded him.

Tetsuya frowned and looked the other way.

"May I give my thoughts on the original question?" Iroh asked.

"Sure," Tetsuya passed on the medallion.

"I'm all for all of you being legitimized and becoming heirs to the throne so that I can remain general of the United forces for similar reasons of Rikuto. I want to show the nationalists and the rest of the world that we **ARE** tolerant of other nationalities and can coexist by continuing to lead armies of soldiers from all nations. It's reassuring and incredibly beneficial to world balance and peace," Iroh said.

Ursa took the medal from him.

Masaru frowned. "No stealing, Ursa."

"You're not my father; you don't get to tell me what to do," Ursa replied. She turned her attention to her brother. "So you're afraid of taking on more responsibility in leading a nation and want to push it all off on somebody else?"

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Iroh replied.

"Oh come on. We all know that's a lie," Takeo said light heartedly.

"Please stay focused just for this evening and remember the medal," Masaru asked.

"Sorry, Father-" Takeo said sitting back.

"Ursa, why don't you just say what's on your mind?"

"What's on my mind?" She scoffed. "I feel betrayed! I feel betrayed by my own mother, AND YOU!" She added to Iroh. "You knew about them and Takeo, Rikuto, and Sasuke and LIED TO ME all this time!"

"I didn't lie! They just never came up when we were together. I didn't know you didn't know-" Iroh replied.

Ursa ignored him and turned to Masaru. "I trusted you, Uncle Saru! And you've been FUCKING HER FOR DECADES BEFORE AND AFTER I WAS BORN! HOW COULD YOU?"

"I had to!—" Masaru replied.

"Really? You had to commit adultery?!"

"He had to because the Fire Sages needed Mother to have another child and Hisoki bolted!" Iroh said, the words rushing out.

Ursa stared at her brother. "What are you talking about?"

"Mother has a miscarriage when she was twenty-three and **_your_** beloved father **_bolted_** right after blaming her for everything! He told her she overexerted herself by simply fulfilling her duties as Princess as the Fire Nation and accompanying him on a political campaign all over the Fire Islands and he left. Nobody knows where he went! Grandmother sent spies at first, then once recovered, Mother joined the search, spending an entire year scouring the world under cover only to also turned up nothing. Hisoki Ibonara returned twelve years later with the intent on killing the entire Royal Family save for Iroh whom he intended to groom to do his bidding while serving as regent until Iroh came of age!" Miyoko exclaimed. "Fortunately, mother killed him that first night and saved everybody—"

"What? No! Assassins attacked them! The official records—," Ursa gasped.

"Are lies!" Miyoko yelled. "Fire Lady Mai wrote them to protect Mother's honor until the time came when she had the strength and authority to defend it herself!"

"You're lying!" Ursa screeched. "And it must have been a well rehearsed story— your organization should be proud!"

"I'm not lying!" Miyoko insisted.

"Then how did **_you_** of all people find out? Mother never told me about having a miscarriage!" Ursa said accusingly.

"I broke into Fire Lord Zuko's records when I was sixteen! There, I confess it! My organization was conducting a reconnaissance raid on the palace. I offered to go instead so that I could control what information they got access to. I wanted to protect all of you from whatever the higher ups of my organization intended to do. Looking back, maybe I **_should_** have let them destroy you," Miyoko growled.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Ursa asked.

"Because even though I didn't ask to be born into this fucked up family, I still did everything I can to look out for you AND my Nation's freedom! I live here too!"

"Well I don't believe you! You're still just a traitor to me!"

"Then banish me, Princess!" Miyoko said, bowing mockingly. "I'll gladly leave now knowing I have other family who would never reject me!"

Ursa glared at her, considering it.

"Ursa," Masaru said warningly.

"Until Mother makes her decision, I still outrank all of you, so do not try to command me to do anything!" Ursa said directly to Masaru before storming out of the room.

"I don't want to hear anymore, Uncle Saru," Iroh said, looking down miserably.

"Sorry to break that image of your imaginary perfect family," Miyoko said, sitting down.

"I'm not hungry anymore, father, may I go?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, me too," Rikuto added.

"Of course," Masaru said, sitting back and running his fingers through his still black hair. He waited for all of the children to meander from the hall and the servants to carry everything away, thanking them for coming before leaving to check on Izumi.

* * *

"How things go? Why did you send me away?" Izumi asked rolling over in bed.

"Because you were losing control," he said touching her hair.

"Oh, right," she said groggily. "Well, how did dinner go?"

"Not well. Miyoko knows you killed Hisoki, and she told everybody-"

Izumi rolled over and sat up in shock. "How?"

"Her club organized an infiltration of the palace. She offered to go to protect them from getting potentially harmful information and found records of the cover up in your father's office," Masaru replied.

"Spirits!" Izumi laid back, covering her eyes. "Ursa will never forgive me. She thinks he's some brave noblemen who loved me."

"Why didn't you ever tell her otherwise?"

"I didn't want to hurt her," Izumi replied.

"Why? He raped you daily until you found out you were pregnant with Iroh. Hell, he even raped you to get you pregnant with her!"

"Hisoki had to, the Fire Sages made him," Izumi rubbed her head. "I just didn't want to crush Ursa's dreams. I didn't think she missed him that much, considering she never met him. I didn't want her to grow up hating someone she would be fortunate enough to never meet. I wanted to keep her happy." Izumi replied.

"Oh Zumi," Masaru said sitting on the bed, pulling her into his arms and holding her.

"I feel like I've done everything wrong! With all of them! Trying to protect them from all of my pains has only led them to hate me. I'm such a terrible mother!"

"You're not! And don't ever say such a thing, Izumi! You're an amazing mother! But keeping up with so many kids is hard. Don't be so mean to my beautiful lady, please," he said, brushing her bangs out of her face.

She looked up at him and began to cry.

"Just be honest with them about how you're feeling," he said soothingly.

"How?"

"By just answering their questions honestly. They should be able to handle it now," he said, watching her hair change slightly.

He touched it to remind her to breathe again.


	9. Earth and Fire

**Earthen Hall, Fire Nation Royal Palace**

The Earthen Hall was a medium sized dining hall decorated in Earth Kingdom colors with massive paintings of badgermoles and mountains and caves, originally constructed to host Earth Kingdom Diplomats. For the duration of the 'vacation' leading up to the wedding, it hosted the breakfast and lunch buffets as well as the more formal dinner feasts for Suyin and Lin's branches of the Beifong Family. Scattered throughout the hall were tables boasting pots of rice and noodles, and dozens of bowls with all sorts of toppings and meats both locally grown and imported from all over the Fire Nation.

At one table, Wing, Wei, and Hungjian, bonded with Rikuto seamlessly. The extremely athletic and skilled earthbenders engaged in a rather boisterous discussion about who would win the power disc tournament that day while Meelo and Kang watched, completely enraptured with their energy.

"Nah, son! You and the Lava Prince don't stand a chance against us. We're like the same person! Our brains are connected telepathically-" Wing exclaimed.

"That's your DISadvantage. Since you always think the exact same way, it will only be TOO easy to come up with something that neither of you could possibly anticipate!" Rikuto boasted, bending a pair of pebbles from behind Wing and Wei to hit them in the back of their heads.

"Hey!" they yelled as Kang and Meelo roared with laughter.

"Why do you even call him the Lava Prince when he can't even bend lava?" Huifan asked, pausing as she passed their table on her way down to get breakfast.

"Oh, and you can?" Rikuto asked, standing up.

 _He doesn't know anything about what went down in Republic City after they rebuilt the Northern Air Temple,_ Huifan realized. She kicked up a pebble behind her and spun it horizontally into a horizontal disk of lava, showing off, then cooled it and tossed the pebble to Rikuto.

"Psh!" he said, dropping the pebble, crushing it while simultaneously raising a rock the size of her head.

He crushed it, then bent it towards her face in a stream of lava. She bent backwards and swatted it aside, almost hitting Wing and Wei. They both leaped aside, letting the glob of lava fall on the table, lighting it on fire.

"Your fault!" Rikuto yelled.

"You attacked me first!" Huifan replied.

"You deflected!"

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Redirect it back!" Rikuto replied.

"It's lava, not lightning! You can't just—redirect it!"

"You can redirect anything! Just like jing…" Rikuto continued to argue

Kya shook her head and smiled as she entered the room to find a fire, and a child of Lin and Zumju arguing over presumably nothing of significance. It reminded her so much of her own youth on Air Temple Island every time Izumi visited. She and Bumi always knew how to rile a flame or a spark out of the ordinarily coy and poised young girl. It was always amusing when she got angry and subconsciously lit things on fire. The Princess always did pride herself on her self-control and became absolutely mortified whenever she lost that control. Kya was always ready for the flames around her, though Bumi always was very unpredictable.

The loving aunt just "happened" to pass by the table and suppress the flames with her waterbending before taking a seat at a table that hosted all her nieces. She could have sat with her brothers and sibling in-laws, but honestly, she found them FAR less interesting than the kiddos who, though pretty old, were still growing and changing so much as they explored their rapidly expanding world after decades of living _in isolation_.

Kya thought about how her parents, Lin's, Suyin, and Izumi's parents all had to work together to stop a war that had been going on for a century and rebuild a world and how they were forced to grow up and act like adults when they were barely even teenagers. _They endured so much and worked so hard, so that we wouldn't have to until we were grown. They gave us the childhood they were deprived of, and we are giving our children an even longer one._ The thought made Kya immensely happy; even though none of the children were her own, they were still one big, chaotic family.

"So, what is on the agenda for you guys today?" Kya asked the girls as she climbed onto the earthen benches that the earthbender made after deciding that having separate chairs kept them too far apart from each other.

"Well we were going to have a meditation session but then Dad and Uncle Bumi and Baatar got invited by Uncle Saru to tour the Headquarter Earthen Fire Facilities in the Fire Nation!" Ikki informed Kya cheerfully. "SOOOOOOO he won't be able to meditate with us again after breakfast!"

"We're supposed to have the discipline to meditate on our own!" Opal reminded Ikki.

"What Dad doesn't know won't hurt him," Jinora said with a smirk.

Kya gasped. "Good Master Jinora skipping out on meditation?!"

"Would you believe it? I was just as surprised! Who brainwashed my little sister?" Jiexue asked, nudging Jinora.

"I'm not brainwashed. Just Xiaoyu and I found Fire Lord Izumi has this INCREDIBLE collection of books on Air Nomad History that even Daddy doesn't have, and we wanted more time to read it!"

"Yeah! It puts Air Temple Island's Library to shame!" Xiaoyu added.

"How and why would the Fire Nation have such an extensive collection of Air Nomad Histories?" Opal asked.

"What if the collection is stolen from one of the Air Temples under Sozin's rule or something?" Jiexue suggested.

"If they were stolen, Fire Lord Izumi would have ordered them returned. She is good."

"What if she doesn't even know about them?"

"You never know what's true anymore I mean, who knew we had a cousin from that Fire Lady that could bend earth?" Jiexue motioned to Rikuto who was now juggling metal goblets without spilling the contents.

"She's a Fire **_Lord_** , not a lady," someone corrected Jiexue.

"URSA!" Opal, Xiaoyu and Jinora exclaimed with excitement.

Huifan and Ikki both heard from the boys table and rushed over. Ikki landed on her knees on the bench across from Ursa and reached across the table to pry open one of the princess's droopy eyes. "You look absolutely HORRIBLE! Did you not sleep last night? Were you crying?" Ikki demanded.

"IKKI! YOU DON'T TOUCH PEOPLE WHILE THEY'RE EATING!" Jinora yelled yanking her little sister back by the waistband.

"Just- don't touch people at all," Xiaoyu corrected with a condescending frown pointed at the eleven-year-old airbender girl.

"Let me guess, dinner didn't go well?" Huifan asked, sitting next to the Princess and draping an arm over her shoulders.

"Past three days didn't go well," Ursa responded, a headache already building up.

"Do you not like your brothers?" Opal asked with a mixture of concern and pity for the Princess.

"Kuto seems cool enough," Huifan said nodding at the man who was now arm-wrestling Wing and Wei at the same time.

"I don't care about the boys. They're all dumb and independent. But I have a SISTER and she's absolutely perfect! The most kind and poised young girl I have ever seen with perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect speech- Ugh!" Ursa exclaimed, throwing down her chopsticks in frustration. "She is the complete opposite of me; so polite, respectful and eager to please and everything Mother could ever want in a daughter-she even BOWED to ME the first time we met, and how do I repay her? By almost killing her with lightning without even thinking in a blind fit of rage! I am a terrible princess and a terrible firebender who lacks the necessary restraint to do anything right! No wonder Mother wants a different successor."

"I thought she wanted to choose a different successor because you didn't want to be Fire Lord and she didn't want to burden you," Huifan noted, perplexed.

"Yeah, and we don't know if this girl is even going to be chosen as the next Fire Lord," Opal added, trying to cheer up the Princess.

"She's not. It's going to be Takeo, the second oldest to Iroh. I guess I am just angry at myself more than anything. I HURT Miyoko when it was my mother who was the source of my anger. I barely even know my sister, and now she has to bear the scars of my mistakes for the rest of her life on her stupid little bare waist! She probably hates me now."

"Ursa, Miyoko doesn't hate you," Kya interrupted. "She doesn't hate anybody."

"How would you know? You barely just met her too!" Ursa asked miserably, looking up at the waterbender while Huifan rubbed her back.

"If you just talked to her, you'd know," Kya replied with a sympathetic smile.

"And don't worry about the scars, Princess."

Ursa turned over her shoulder and saw Lin Beifong standing over her, two faded marks marring her face from her jaw to nearly her eye.

"I have one too from when I sneaked up on Huifan in her sleep while she was still bitter and angry at our Dad for leaving," Jinora added leaning her forearms on the table so Ursa could see the scar that crossed her eye and cheek and even cast a white line across the arrow tattooed on her forehead.

"It may take time, but you'll work through it," Lin said, putting an arm around Suyin who came over and also placed a hand on the Princess's shoulder.

"Thank you, Aunt Lin," Ursa smiled.

"If you will excuse me, I need a word with the Princess," a member of the Amber League, and Izumi's personal guard said, standing behind Lin and Suyin. They parted, allowing the man to approach the princess.

"Your Mother requires your presence immediately. I am to escort you to her quarters. You most likely will not be available for the rest of the day," Genkei informed Ursa.

"I'm surprised she didn't summon me to the throne room," Ursa muttered irritably, standing up.

"Don't forget your breakfast!" Ikki said leaping over the table grabbing Ursa's bowl on the way, landing on an air scooter, riding it to be in front of the princess. While the child's energy was sometimes refreshing, other times it was INCREDIBLY irritating.

"Sorry, if I annoyed you earlier! I was just worried. Here, have at least the egg?" Ikki said shoving it into the Princess's mouth. "Protein is good for you!"

Ursa choked and almost tripped over herself before swallowing. Genkei instinctively pounded her on the back until she recovered and frowned at the young airbender but didn't reprimand herw.

Jinora and Xiaoyu both buried their faces in their hands with embarrassment. Huifan, Jiexue, Suyin and Lin laughed, Opal looked genuinely concerned for the Princess's well-being, and Kya just smiled.

"Thanks kid, but don't worry about me, okay?" Ursa said catching her breath. "I can always raid the kitchens later. That's where they hoard the best stuff anyways!" Ursa added in a whisper as if letting Ikki in on a secret.

"Really?" the eleven-year-old exclaimed.

"Maybe I can bring you later if I don't get locked in the dungeon for a day."

"Has that happened before?" Ikki asked, eyes wide with concern.

"Once, I threatened to kill my mother in jest and some passing guard overheard and arrested me, not realizing I was the Princess and threw me in the dungeons to rot," Ursa noted.

"Woah! That sounds sooooo cool!"

"Not when you're a fourteen-year-old kid."

"How long were you in there?"

"About a day."

"What did your mom do to the guard that threw you in there? Did she feed him to your dragons?"

"My mother is NOT like that. She just assigned him to a different part of the castle and demoted his ranking for being so foolish," Ursa replied.

"Awwww!"

"Speaking of your mother, it is not polite to keep her waiting," Genkei reminded the princess.

"You're all lucky your Mom is not the Fire Lord," Ursa mumbled to her friends.

"Actually, the Earth Queen can get pretty annoying," Opal confessed with a smirk. Suyin swatted her over the head, getting a laugh from the other girls before returning to the adults' table with Lin.

"Coming?" Suyin asked Kya.

"Probably not. You old people get almost as boring as Zumzu sometimes," Kya called.

Ursa laughed.

* * *

Ursa barely remembered being in her mother's quarters. She knows she used to sleep with her mother before she was six years old. The then princess didn't trust any of the staff except Iliana and Kei Lo with her daughter because the Fire Sages were constantly after her. They wanted a puppet to train to restore the empire. Fortunately, Ursa never really had that blood lust or the iron fist they required in their ideal puppet.

Her mother lived in one of the grander apartments that she received when she married Hisoki. It was not the official quarters of the Fire Lord because Grandfather Zuko abdicated and didn't die and Izumi didn't feel like making the elderly man sleep somewhere unfamiliar when he did return to the palace to visit.

The spacious room was empty, the bed was already made, and there was no sign of life.

"Uh… Mother?" Ursa called tentatively.

"In here," Izumi said coming out of a secret passageway in the wall wearing a light pink wrap-around dress with a red sash and wide sleeves, with her hair completely down with no flames or decorations.

"Is there… an occasion?" Ursa asked suspiciously, seeing her mother in the plainest thing that Ursa had seen her mother wear in years that wasn't a nightgown.

"Yes," Izumi said striding over to a chest of drawers. "We're going out today. You, me, and Yoko," Izumi informed her older daughter as she opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves with several pockets and slots for concealed weapons. She pulled them up her bare arms and tightened them just below the elbow. Then she pulled on heavy leather wrist guards and buckled them onto her forearms, pulling each strap with her teeth. Finally, she pulled out knife after knife, dart after dart, shoving each into one of the many pockets in her sleeves.

"Where do you intend on taking us?" Ursa asked, leaning onto one foot with one hand on her hip and her head slightly tilted.

"Anywhere you want to go," Izumi replied, shoving the last knife, a retractable three-blade, six edged, heavy-handled thing into her boot.

"Can that be our respective rooms where we could do whatever we want in peace, quiet, and solitude without any of your cronies constantly interrupting?"

Ursa's head snapped to the side to see Miyoko standing beside her with her arms folded, looking just as displeased with their mother as she was.

"Preferably anywhere but the castle," Izumi said, pulling out a simple red-ribboned necklace with a pezzottaite stone in it and tied it around her neck. "This place is depressing."

"But…won't we be recognized?" Ursa asked raising a brow.

"Not if we dress down," Izumi replied, checking her subtle lip gloss. The girls glanced at each other.

"Maybe you could wear something of mine," Izumi suggested firebending into a nondescript place in the wall revealing her secret closet. She paused in the doorway.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked.

"I wouldn't expect the Fire Lord to know how to 'dress down'," Ursa muttered.

"You know, I DID have a life before marriage, children, and Lordship," Izumi reminded them sarcastically. _Just be honest. Be yourself,_ Masaru told her that morning.

"Mother, we've both been outside the palace. We know how to dress ourselves," Miyoko said impatiently.

"Well I haven't gotten to dress either of you since before you were six and I want to, so can't you just let me have it, just once?" Izumi asked.

The daughters glanced at each other again. Ursa shrugged. "As long as it's not hideous."

"My mother was Fire Lady Mai, daughter of two aristocratic assholes who only ever cared about their own image. Do you _really_ think she would let me even acquire anything hideous?" Izumi asked sarcastically.

The Fire Lord wouldn't speak ill of her family. The Fire Lord has no use for sarcasm. The Fire Lord has no need for feelings. The Fire Lord has no use for honesty.

This woman was not the Fire Lord. This woman was their mother sorely missing being a mother and wanting to dress her only two daughters.

"You don't just have Fire Nation clothes," Miyoko noted, browsing the collection. Ursa gasped. The prim and proper one may be polite in company, but like Izumi, was completely different in private. Here she was perusing the Fire Lord's Private collection as if it were a department store.

"Kya lent me these the first time we went to the North Pole together. We were alone. We had actually stolen Oogi from Tenzin while he was too busy snogging Lin to notice. It was so much fun—" Izumi said, motioning to a set of blue, fur-trimmed robes. "Father was livid— then again, he was always livid when I went anywhere without my guard without at least asking for clearance first. I simply found them annoying. I despised the publicity of being a princess. I despised a lot of things, but I liked going with Kya, and mother was happy for me because of her."

"Mother, was Aunt Kya your girlfriend or something?"

"You got into the photographs from the forbidden wing at Ember Island, didn't you?" Izumi asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes," Ursa confessed, slumping and expecting a punishment.

Izumi laughed. "Kya was my first real friend other than Saru, my first best friend, and my first and only girlfriend."

"And then you married Hisoki and now you're marrying Saru?"

"It was complicated then. I was a curious girl who wanted to know about all of the crude stuff Bumi was constantly boasted about doing. I could ask Kya about anything and she'd explain without judging. Saru was fun when we were young, but when I was a teenager, he became too... caring. Prioritized protecting my reputation over making me happy and I hated that. Kya remained to me the nicest person in the world. She would hold me and listen to me rant, she would comfort me when my mother left me on Air Temple Island for months at a time. She taught me how to lose my escort and how to disguise myself in any country. She taught me how to kiss," Izumi laughed at it all. "And offered to teach me so much more, but I was too timid." Izumi pulled down two dresses and two pairs of pants. And laid them over chairs for her daughters then lit a crystal chandelier in the room, illuminating everything.

"Mother, why are you doing this?" Miyoko asked suspiciously as she pulled her crop top with the royal collar off over her head to change into her mother's selections. Ursa followed taking off her royal armor bit by painstaking bit.

"Doing what?" Izumi asked with her back to them, looking out a window at the end of the closet that overlooked the Capital to give them privacy.

"Spending time with us?" Miyoko asked, looking more hurt than anything.

Ursa thought that was odd. _Maybe the obvious? She is our mother and she loves us? Or claims she does._

"Because you both were born in a time where the world would not allow me to be the mother I wanted to be. You both were born to a Princess, not a Fire Lord, who had no power over her own life or body who had to bend to the demands of the Fire Sages, and the demands of the Nation. Still, I know that is no excuse for neglecting my own children. I failed to protect you and give you the attention you needed in your youth. I kept too many secrets from you and I wanted to try—to start to try to make up the lost time if you are willing to let me back into your life. I promise to answer as many questions about our family and our history as I am able and will make myself more available to provide guidance if you ask. You deserve the truth, and I'm sorry for withholding it from you for so long," Izumi responded.

Neither girl responded, too deep in thought. _How could the Crown Princess then have so little control and the Crown Princess now be able to travel alone without a care in the world?_ Ursa realized then that was all her mother's doing. The Fire Sages gone from the palace, authority restored to the royal family, the freedom of speech, the freedom for Yoko to make posters against the institution while living in the palace-that was all Mother's doing.

"Are you through changing yet?" Izumi asked in a more demanding, slightly impatient tone of a Fire Lord, after a few minutes.

"Yes, Mother," Ursa answered for both of them.

Izumi turned around and looked at their bewildered faces. Her own features softened as she gazed at them longingly, wanting no more than to hold them like when they were babies and shield them from the pain and pressure of the world for an eternity.

"Come on then, we can go to Fire Fountain City," Izumi suggested.

"But there's nothing to do there!" Ursa complained.

"And it's far," Miyoko added.

"Then where do you want to go?" Izumi asked.

"Why don't we go just outside the Capital? We could have a lunch in the harbor and then peruse the artisan street on our way to a theatre for an evening showing of something, maybe," Miyoko suggested.

Izumi turned to Ursa.

"That sounds fine with me," the Princess shrugged.

"Alright. We can take a Satomobile to the base of the volcano and then walk the rest of the way to the port."

* * *

"We're not bringing guards?" Ursa asked once they were situated in a Satomobile.

"My Father would have made me bring at least a dozen imperial guards for each of us, but he's not in charge anymore, so I don't have to. I've always found them more annoying than anything, and they draw attention," Izumi explained, seeing both daughters eyeing her strangely in the rear view mirror. "And I can protect you if you can't sufficiently protect yourselves, by now."

"It's not that it's just—" Ursa began to say, before stopping.

" _You're_ driving?" Miyoko asked making no effort to mask her displeasure.

Izumi sighed and lightly banged her head on the steering wheel with annoyance before pulling out of the underground parking garage. "It's like you guys think I have never left the throne room in my life and know nothing about the outside world!"

"Sorry," Miyoko apologized.

"I guess we just don't know you all that well either," Ursa commented, looking down with mixed feelings.


	10. Feel the Heat

R **oyal Fire Nation Library**

The royal library spanned eight floors in the central column of the Fire Nation Royal Palace. The first floor sprawled out for what felt like miles and miles of aisles with archives of communications with the other nations and the former colonies. The floor up contained histories on the Southern Water Tribe, then the next two floors were histories on the northern water tribe, then the next three floors on the earth kingdom, and the top two floors were histories on the Air Nomads.

Xiaoyu and Jinora stood at the base of the atrium, looking up at the massive stained-glass skylight of dragons, badgermoles, sky bison, and the ocean spirit koi fish all gathered under a full moon. It was a recent addition to the Royal Palace commissioned by Fire Lord Izumi to symbolize unity cooperation, and even codependency of the four nations and their peoples. Everything from the wrought iron railings of the walkways on the upper floors to the ladders, to the shelving and cages over some of the more delicate works were absolutely beautiful. The extravagance was unlike anything ever seen in humble wooden structures on Air Temple Island and the rustic clay dwellings carved into the mountains of the Southern and Northern air temples.

"To be fair, those were only inhabited by men," Xiaoyu smirked.

Jinora laughed. The Eastern and Western Air Temples were only inhabited by women; notably, they were more geometric in architecture, and were decorated with intricate paintings and many sculptures depicting scenes from Air Nomad history and were much more geometric in architecture and much more decorated with more detailed paintings of the history and much more abundant in statues of ancient airbender nuns.

"Which raises the question: how exactly did we survive for as long as we did?" Jinora questioned.

"Well, we ARE supposed to be nomads…" Xiaoyu smiled.

"Maybe the answers are up there," Jinora said, nodding to the top floors.

Xiaoyu looked up and smiled. "I'll race you!"

"I have a wingsuit, but you don't have your glider on you. How are we going to-" Jinora asked.

Xiaoyu pulled the two fans out of her waist band and opened them, bending one arm in front of her and one arm behind her. She twisted and pushed the air down, shooting herself up with an air spout then used a fan to push herself to the side and onto a balcony on the seventh floor of the library.

"I win!" Xiaoyu called.

"NO FAIR! You didn't say go!" Jinora hissed, flying up to join her older sister.

Xiaoyu stifled her laughter as she caught her little sister. There were a combination of books and scrolls, even paintings of each of the four Air Temples, in the direction of their names. "Grandfather Aang was from the Southern Air Temple, right?"

"Yeah," Jinora replied as they rounded the atrium to the section on the Southern Air Temple. The rows were labeled with call numbers with a directory at the end of each one written in some ancient script that neither girl could read.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all," Jinora thought as she tried to decipher the unrecognizable characters.

"Maybe the scrolls will be in a different language or writing?" Xiaoyu suggested, heading down an isle to pull out a random scroll with an even stranger kind of writing. "Is there a way to tell the dates of these transcripts?"

"There's a code," a voice said.

Both girls jumped with a shrill scream.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to startle you, Misses," the vaguely familiar young Fire Nation Man said, bowing to them.

"Hey! We saw you in the library in Republic City! You attend Ranshao Rikai University, right?" Jinora asked.

"Used to. I have since graduated in the past month. Now I am an intern for the Secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has sent me to return some scrolls he borrowed to the archives. Needless to say, I didn't expect to hear two girls screaming at each other in the atrium."

"Sorry, about that," Xiaoyu said, subconsciously tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Don't apologize. Rarely does anybody even come here so it is likely you didn't disturb anyone. Most who come bring their selections back to their own chambers to read anyways, unless such selections are under lock and chain. Those particular tomes cannot leave the library," the man informed them.

"Who decides what goes under lock and chain?" Jinora asked.

"Previously it was the Fire Sages who censored information available to the ministers, generals, and even the Royal Family. You know, they were the original leaders of the Fire Islands prior to any Fire Lord gaining authority," the man answered.

"Really?"

"Yes. Alas, a lot has changed in the last nine-thousand years. Fire Lord Izumi has finally finished what her ancestors began and has permanently sripped the ancient and long-obsolete organization of all political authority. Now she is solely in charge of the censors but leaves most of the tedious tasks like reorganizing the Royal Library to a certain branch of the Amber League," the man said thinking for a moment before turning to Xiaoyu directly. "Is there any particular topic about which you are interested in learning? I can help you find the text. Forgive me, but the organization system is a bit difficult to teach and I am assuming your stay won't be very long in the Fire Nation since it is only for vacation and not permanent residency."

"Is everything an option?" Xiaoyu asked, turning away from him to hide her reddening cheeks. Jinora leaned around the man to look at Xiaoyu, knowing instantly what was happening. It was the same thing that happened to her when she first saw Kai in that village where they put on an airbending exhibition nearly four years ago.

"How did airbenders reproduce if the men and the women lived on separate temples on opposite axes of the world?" Jinora asked loudly, wanting to make things awkward for her big sister and the Fire Nation guy before them.

Xiaoyu wanted to murder her little girl for a moment.

"Such engagements were recorded and coordinated by the nuns of the Western Air Temple. We've actually managed to collect their methods and birth records for... preservation purposes and keep them stored over here," the man said, walking away from them.

"I am going to KILL you later!" Xiaoyu whispered.

"Maybe he can be your future mate!" Jinora suggested with a devious little grin. "You seem willing."

"It is well known that the Air Nomads are extremely progressive and extremely conservative at the same time with their regards to society. Unlike those of the Fire Nation, the Air Nomads allowed all members of their society to love whomever they chose so long as they disclosed the person's name, ethnicity, birth date, and birthplace. It did not matter the race or gender, so long as every person contributed at least one child to the society to take their place when they leave the mortal world," the man said as he walked with his hands behind his back to the Western Air Temple Section as if he had been there a thousand times before. "Yet they are traditional in the sense that they, for the longest time were against technological advances and viewed most inventions made by the Fire Nation and Northern Water Tribes at the time as abominations to nature that corrupted all that was peaceful and pure."

"This is a matchmakers log," the man said, pulling a massive tome off the shelf and handing it to Xiaoyu.

"Matchmaker's log?" Jinora asked as her older sister opened it on a table.

"I can read this," Xiaoyu commented, noting the names with descriptions of the person's personality.

"But why are matchmakers necessary?" Jinora asked.

"In the event two men or two women loved each other, both parties had to approach the matchmaker to find a donor willing to contribute the necessary, complimentary piece to produce the obligatory child," the man explained.

"You make it seem like the Air Nomads were bred like farm animals," Jinora commented with pursed lips and a furrowed brow.

"The Air Nomads didn't see sex and reproduction as the other nations did. Air is the element of freedom. The people of the Air Temples preached the necessity of detaching oneself from their earthly tethers and that included significant others and families. Love was not a requisite for procreation. Even after a child was born, it was sent away-"

"WHAT?!" Both girls turned in shock.

"Girls were often sent away from their mothers to be raised by the nuns of the other temple and boys were sent to either the Northern or Southern Temples, whichever temple does not host his father if the father was also an Air Nomad, which happened more frequently than you would think, " the man said. "The airbenders who 'mated' with the local population would present their airbending children to the elders and leave the non-bending children, or benders of the other elements, with the other parent and leave."

"How could someone just give up their children?" Jinora said, frowning.

"It was what they thought was necessary at the time. This Fire Sage Maotian Xu explains his observations and thoughts on the practice here," the man said handing the younger airbender before him a scroll. "And these are some texts by the Nun, Hanfeng Deng, of the Western Air Temple. She was one of the matchmakers charged with the more reluctant young female airbenders."

"How do you know all of this?" Xiaoyu asked suspiciously.

"I have a friend who is absolutely fascinated with the origins and cultures of all four nations and their elements," the man replied, scanning the bookshelves for other scrolls of interest. "It is his belief that one can only become a true master of his own element if he becomes a _master of understanding_ of _all_ of the elements and their wielders."

"What was your name again?" Jinora asked.

"Kohaku Ge, at your service," the man said bowing deeply again.

"I'm-"

"Jinora Trunghai and Xiaoyu Yeshe," Kohaku said for her.

"Wait, I thought Aunt Lin changed all of our names to Yeshe?" Jinora said, looking to Xiaoyu who shrugged.

"The former Chief of Police was misinformed. She cannot name you Yeshe since it is a name only granted to the direct descendants of an Air Nomad Avatar by a mate approved by the Avatar. Aang never met your mother, and therefore could never give his blessing for her to grant children to your father. Per Air Nomad tradition, you _cannot_ be a Yeshe. It is documented in this record. 'The Marital Escapades of Yangchen'," Kohaku informed them.

"Wait, but based on what you said previously it sounds like the Air Nomads of old weren't allowed to get married since they had to leave their children and significant other's behind. How could Avatar Yangchen engage in 'marital escapades' if she cannot marry? They had to detach from their earthly attachments," Xiaoyu argued.

"Read the tome," Kohaku said, nodding to the scroll in Jinora's hands.

" _Avatar Yangchen: To the next Air Nomad Avatar, you must be willing to put aside your spiritual needs for the sake of the world for your sole duty is to the world._ " Jinora flipped to the next page that indexed the contents of the record. With Fire Lord Jinzutik… with Earth King Haolong Jing… with Chief Tikanu of the Water Tribes…."

"She had a child with each of the world leaders?"

"She became the bridge that connected humans and spirits, and the bridge that connected the four nations as one 'family' in a way, would you believe it? She played a major role in ensuring peace for the generation that followed her time in the mortal world. Her children became ambassadors for their respective fathers, and quelled quarrels that arose for the following eight decades after her passing." Kohaku said with an enthusiastic smile, planting one hand on the table beside the book, leaning towards Xiaoyu, prompting Jinora to slide protectively close to Xiaoyu.

"That actually… makes sense," Xiaoyu said, not noticing his proximity.

Jinora eyed the Fire Nation man with a growing distaste, then she felt the temperature of the air rising as if a fire was igniting somewhere. She looked at Kohaku standing with one hand on the desk, the other on the back of Xiaoyu's chair. He didn't appear to firebending. Jinora ran to the end of the isle towards the atrium. The air was cooler there. She ran down the adjacent isles to check. She needed to protect these ancient tomes.

"Jinora, is everything okay?" Xiaoyu asked.

"You don't feel the heat?" Jinora asked.

"What heat?" Xiaoyu asked. She turned to the only possible source of the heat, the fire nation boy. Only then did she too notice his proximity and jumped out of her seat, quickly brushing herself off, blushing red, and looking away shyly.

"Sorry, I was just-" Xiaoyu began to say before Jinora jumped in front of her big sister and onto the pushed-out chair to be at eye level with the Fire Nation Boy.

"WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT, BOY!" Jinora yelled at Kohaku as he stood up straight again.

"What are you talking about?" Xiaoyu asked her sister angrily.

"He was heating the air around you for some reason," Jinora said. "How could you not feel it?"

"Maybe she just has a higher heat tolerance than you do, Jinora," Kohaku suggested.

"So you admit to bending the heat around us?"

"It probably was me. Unlike airbenders, firebenders are not as adept at detaching themselves from their emotions, and as a result, can sometimes lose control of their bending," Kohaku explained.

"Maybe you're just being paranoid about NOTHING!" Xiaoyu yelled at Jinora. "Forgive my little sister, the airbending MASTER who seems to be unable to detach herself from being ridiculous suspicious of nothing!"

"What?!" Jinora shrieked.

"Whatever!"

"UGH! You're infuriating!" Jinora yelled.

"I'm infuriating? You're the one who wanted to learn about Air Nomad reproduction anyways and now you can't handle it!"

"I can't handle HIM!"

"He's been nothing but kind to us sacrificing his time so that we could learn despite the cataloguing being done in ancient runes!"

"I don't like him firebending around you. It's creepy!"

"Then leave!"

"Maybe I will!" Jinora growled storming off to go find Opal and Ikki.


	11. Honesty

**Pier 29, Fire Nation Port, Fire Nation Capital**

The crowded coastal main street of the port city was lined on one side by docks, that boasted everything from transoceanic cruise ship terminals, sea serpent viewing vessels, seafood fishing vessels, military vessels, and ferry boats to the other fire islands, and on the other side by restaurants and shops. Nobody paid the Fire Lord and her daughter's any attention.

"I would give anything to be a metalbender right now with tethering capabilities," Izumi said softly as they made their way through dense crowds to the meat street.

"Why?" Ursa asked tilting her head curiously.

"To make sure I don't lose you two with so many people around," Izumi replied with absolute seriousness.

"Mother, we're not children. We can see you just fine and have no intention of running off, so there really is no need for tethering," Miyoko replied with a sigh of exasperation.

"Perhaps not to you, but to me you'll always be my little girls," the Fire Lord said wistfully.

Most of the restaurants that lined the street and food carts that littered the sidewalk had menus and placards that advertised daily specials and signature dishes as well as their prices.

"So expensive here," Miyoko commented, looking around.

"That's because this is the tourist district and not the university district. Most of the clientele here are rich foreigners on business trips and not starving students," Izumi replied matter-of-factly. "How about here?" she suggested, stopping at a meat cart.

"Did you really bring enough gold for this particular meat cart?" Ursa asked, gaping at the prices for the luxury cuts.

"Just because we dressed down doesn't mean I didn't prepare to eat out," Izumi explained. "Order anything, we'll be fine."

The girls glanced at each other, an eyebrow raised, and scanned the menu for something appetizing. They both ordered extremely basic teriyaki barbecue chicken kebabs for a ridiculous price of seventeen gold pieces each. Izumi got a blazing ghost chili beef fillet on a stick for some sixty gold pieces and asked for the whole pepper to be left on top. Her heat tolerance must have been higher than everybody either girl had ever met. When they went to pay, the girls noticed their mother open her palm as the appropriate amount of gold pieces flew to her palm from a storage pocket in her wide sleeve.

"Are you a metalbender too or something?" Miyoko asked, floored by what she was seeing.

"I'll explain once we're seated," Izumi replied taking a receipt, leading the girls to an empty table nearby. "After a rather interesting conversation with Baatar the other evening about magnets and trains, we realized that firebenders possibly generate their own electromagnetic fields of varying gravitational strength with lightningbending, so I thought I would try it today, and it worked," Izumi explained.

"How do you figure all of this out?" Miyoko asked.

"When I was younger, I was told I had to master firebending, master lightning bending, master lightning redirection. I passed all of my tests, I gained the honor of being called 'Master' for a day until Princess took that title's place. But then I met an opponent I couldn't beat. In our own bed, he used dark lightning to paralyze me," Izumi answered. "So I tried to teach myself the technique. I remembered it feeling incredibly painful, and wanted to refine it to be useful, but also painless, for I was not one who liked causing pain in others unless necessary. I realized then that there was no such thing as a true master of firebending, only varying levels of command of the element. Even the dragons don't know what to make of dark lightning."

"Why don't you teach us these techniques you've discovered?" Ursa asked.

"Well, I only discovered the magnetic field generation yesterday and am not confident in my own competence with that yet to teach. As for other techniques like dark lightning, I won't teach because I view it as being on-par with bloodbending in terms of cruelty. I hated training it, hated refining it and hate using it even when necessary. It is a burden to wield and completely unnecessary for you to know in the peaceful times we live in today."

Miyoko looked like she wanted to say something else but was clearly holding back. Why? Ursa couldn't tell.

"Number 75!" the meat cart owner yelled, putting out a food tray.

"I'll get it," Miyoko said quickly leaving, looking bothered for some reason.

"What's with her?" Ursa asked once Miyoko was out of earshot.

"She thinks I am too restricting on myself and all of you," Izumi explained just before Yoko returned.

"For me and you, and for Mom," Miyoko said, setting down the three trays and taking a seat beside her half sister.

Izumi picked up the saucy pepper and ate it whole discarding the stem in a nearby plant before digging into the steak on a stick with an absurd sort of delicacy about her.

"Mother, how in Shaw's name do you manage to look dainty even when tearing meat off a stick?" Ursa asked, stopping in the middle of raising her own stick of meat to her lips.

Izumi swallowed and spoke. "I don't know what you're talking about." she replied obliviously, before taking another bite.

"Without getting any of the extra sauce on the back of your fingers or even smudging your lip color in any way," Miyoko clarified.

"Oh, that," Izumi said setting down the stick to dab her fingers and the corner of her mouth with a disposable napkin that came with the tray that was as stiff as parchment. "Could possibly be a result of growing up getting whacked with a stick by this ancient lady from Ba Sing Se who supervised all of my meals to make sure I learned how to eat _properly_ ," Izumi replied, subconsciously sitting up straight.

"I don't think I could have managed," Ursa commented, with pity

"I knew you couldn't, that's why I didn't ask that lady back when I had you, and insisted upon personally overseeing your training. I couldn't bear to see you tortured even though sometimes you actually did deserved it," Izumi confessed. _Be honest with them_ , Masaru told her.

"Gee thanks," Ursa said, rolling her eyes.

Izumi simply shrugged and looked around. The meat street was bright and quaint and a nice change of scenery from the dark and damask interior of the Fire Nation Royal Palace.

"So, Mom, is there anything you need us to do in preparation for your wedding? Like making the dress or helping decorate like we did with Aunt Lin's?" Ursa asked.

"I don't think so. I put a team in charge of the preparations with strict instructions. I wanted us to be able to spend time with family and not have to worry about working- and I wanted to get to see my friends since I never had any siblings and with Su being Earth Queen, we're all so busy," Izumi said.

"What was it like growing up the only child of the Fire Lord?" Miyoko asked.

"Dreadfully lonely, and incredibly painful. The pressure was debilitating at times. I felt like my parent's only chance to do anything good in the world. I had to be; I was to be the first Fire Lord to ascend to the throne in over a century that didn't have a 'Scorched Earth' policy," Izumi said with a bittersweet sadness in her voice. "I had to be absolutely perfect. I couldn't speak unless spoken to; I couldn't eat unless allowed. Sometimes Miss. Della would take away dinner if I made too many mistakes at lunch. Sometimes she'd take away both if I made too many mistakes at breakfast. I had to train bending with the 'best teachers in the Fire Nation' who were just really big assholes who had a nice long history of creating other really big assholes. I had to study the history of all four nations, so that I wouldn't make the same mistakes as my forefathers.

When I could get away from the parade of tutors and teachers, I'd hide in the vents and wait for my best friend to come and save me. Most of the time, we would just sneak into the kitchens and eat. I couldn't go alone because I wasn't strong enough to kick the grills that cover the openings like he could."

"Father?" Miyoko asked.

"Yes."

"What was it like when Hisoki came to the Capital?" Ursa asked, not quite sure if she wanted to hear the answer anymore. "Was he at least kind in the beginning?"

"He was kind enough to be chosen out of dozens of suitors presented to my parents, to have the opportunity to meet me," Izumi began. "He was a bit of a home body, not much of a soldier, definitely raised and trained to flawlessly navigate high society, never did like running, though he still accompanied me on my morning sprint around the capital before joining my family at breakfast. He was supportive, watched my firebending lessons and acrobatic lessons, then spent the rest of most days with my father learning about the court system and politics. He was good then, good enough to gain the approval of both of my parents when he asked for my hand in marriage after two whole years of courting.

"It was strange though, when he first came," Izumi continued, addressing the first question. "It was only a week after Masaru joined the Fire Nation Army against my mother's wishes. Saru wouldn't even join the United Forces because there were too many Earth Kingdom Soldiers in it. Looking back, I realized he was a racist little bigot with an unreasonable grudge against his own Mother for not wanting to lock him away in Gaoling. He ran away when he was five to find a firebending teacher and Toph let him go. She wanted him to be free and happy, not chained like she was and he interpreted it as her not caring. I swear to you, parents can't do anything right, these days," Izumi added sadly.

"Don't say that, Ma!" Ursa whined.

"You did relatively well, all things considered. I mean, we're all still breathing-," Miyoko pointed out.

"Hisoki would disagree," Izumi replied glassy-eyed.

Both girls' faces fell as they remembered Miyoko's outburst the previous night at dinner after Masaru sent Izumi to bed. "Did my father really blame you for miscarrying?" Ursa asked.

"Yes," Izumi said, fidgeting with the stick of her kebab.

"And did he really disappear for twelve years?" Ursa asked.

"Yes."

"And did you really kill him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He wasn't your father anymore. He was a monster. I don't know what happened to him on his journey. In the twelve years he was gone, his voice stayed the same, but his hair had turned white, there were shadows under his eyes, scars on his neck and face, and lines where there shouldn't have been lines. His face had become gaunt and he spoke nonsense about some desire to kill my family. He said for me though, he wouldn't show mercy or do it quickly and proceeded to rape me."

"Why didn't you fight back?"

"You've heard of dark lightning. He was the first one who used it on me. And he used it again on me that midday. Managed to get his hand on my back and paralyze me completely so I couldn't fight him," Izumi answered. She felt her heat rising, but a deep breath brought her heart under control again and kept her hair from changing.

"That's horrible," Miyoko breathed.

Ursa became angry. "How did you know I am his and not Uncle Saru's?" she asked, mortified by what she was hearing.

"The month before the event I was in the Southern Water Tribe and for nearly two months after, I didn't let anyone touch me, not even Saru because I was so shaken by what had transpired that day," Izumi explained. "We knew you were his because of the timing."

"And you still kept me?" Ursa asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Izumi asked, perplexed.

"Because I reminded you of him?"

Izumi bit her lower lip. "You know, Iroh asked the same thing after Takeo was born. He was five-years-old, crying, afraid that I would hate him for who his father was. I didn't hate him; I couldn't hate him. I don't hate him, or you for that matter, because both he and you are still a part of me. You are still my blood and I cannot just leave a part of myself on a street or with a stranger."

"When exactly did you start courting my Father?" Miyoko asked.

"That you'll have to ask my parents," Izumi answered with no expression on her face. "We were best friends that constantly got into trouble together raiding the kitchens of raspberry pastries, brewing wildfyre, setting bathrooms ablaze, playing pranks on the guards, and discovering secret passageways to use to escape. When I was sixteen, Bumi started making crude remarks that I didn't understand. Saru explained all of them to me as if they were just… pieces of information. When I asked if he'd demonstrate some of those 'things' Bumi had mentioned, Saru refused. Told me that doing so would tarnish my reputation, my status, and dishonor my family name. We fought and made up. And a year later, I kissed him. He decided to join the army after that. Our parents didn't mind us holding hands, didn't mind the pecks on the cheek. Looking back, it was rather cruel to let us believe we could be together before tearing us apart for the sake of blood purity and to minimize the chances of the pro-Ozai nationalists revolting."

"Were you scared?" Ursa asked. "When you got married the first time?"

Izumi looked up at the clear blue sky and drew a breath. "I don't even know anymore. I guess I was just naive. Nothing frightened me then. I knew it was my duty as Princess to serve my nation and my dynasty and I had accepted that. I was proud of what my father had accomplished and was eager to follow in his footsteps in spreading peace, love, and harmony throughout the world. If that required me marrying Hisoki, then I would, and I did. I guess I didn't get nervous until the night of our wedding."

"Why?"

"Because the damned Fire Sages came with our parents to ensure we consummated our marriage on the first night. They didn't trust us," Izumi turned her gaze down at the table, her eyes narrowing in anger in hate, her fists clenched. _STOP IT, ZUMI! You're safe now! Both the Sages and Hisoki are gone! You can breathe again!_ Izumi's hair streaked and then went grey again. "Sorry," She said with a sigh, looking up again.

"What was that like?" Ursa asked.

"It sounds horrible!" Miyoko exclaimed, shifting uncomfortably.

"Ursa, subtract six years. Yoko, add two," Izumi commanded. "You've never had sex before and now you're told you have two years to bear a child or else your family could lose everything. It was so excruciating that I lost control of my firebending and burned the hands that held me down so Hisoki could maintain access to my body. He ended up resorting to dark lightning to disable any defenses I had put up around myself.

"Things got slightly easier after Iroh was born. Hisoki liked Iroh and acted much kinder to me. I was absolutely head over heels in love with our baby. You can't imagine how entertaining it is to just sit for hours watching something so small just laying there, breathing and knowing that it was once such a tiny, inconceivable thing and now was living!

"When Iroh was about a year, we were in Fire Fountain City when insurgents tried to kill Iroh and Me. The Fire Sages realized they needed a back up plan and once again began supervising out nocturnal activities to make sure we were following orders and trying. The intended spare didn't survive long enough to take its first breath of life, and Hisoki vanished, tired of being treated like cattle. On that one stance, we perfectly agreed. We were both miserable. Still, my family worried that he would speak ill about his treatment and disgrace the family so we tried to find him. After a year, I returned to the palace, and was told I needed to remarry to have another child. I refused because of that ridiculous bedding ceremony. I would not be humiliated like that again. I loved Iroh and had no problem with the thought of more children, so I decided to do things my own way and promised to myself that once I became Fire Lord, I would do away with that archaic and barbaric tradition."

"So in short, Grandfather Zuko just let you hook up with Uncle Saru? When you returned from the failed search?" Ursa asked.

"Pretty much, so I went to Saru's house and demanded he fuck me."

"And he did?" Ursa asked incredulously.

"Obviously," Miyoko frowned, rolling her eyes.

"Well, first he gave me a tour of his estate and showed me all of the secret passages in case there were an emergency and he or the guards became incapacitated so that I could flee. I didn't know what I was even doing. Did he undress me or do I undress him? With Hisoki, the Sages told him to do as he pleased. With Saru, he asked what I wanted to do, but I knew nothing. He taught me how to love. He's probably the reason why we have so many children-I was unstoppable for a long while," Izumi covered her face flushing red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry if it's embarrassing or hard to hear," Izumi added sympathetically after a pregnant pause.

"No, it's just really sad. We never— or at least I never realized just how much you changed… well… everything to protect us from having to go through the same trials as you," Ursa said.

"We're a rapidly progressing nation. I figured if public opinions and attitudes could change, so could traditions," Izumi said.

"So there's still hope for absolute freedom?" Miyoko asked optimistically.

"Nope, my dear that is anarchy," Izumi replied as Ursa snickered at her little dissident of a sister. "Don't laugh at her. She can't help that she's been brainwashed by my enemies in the university," Izumi said to Ursa with a smile on her face.


	12. Hard Water

**The Hall of the Fire Lords**

_WOAH,_ Huifan thought as she craned her neck to see the massive paintings on the wall that spanned the space from floor to ceiling. She had stopped in front of Zuko's painting. His scar was intentionally drawn faded as a testament to the fact that his past did not define his present being. Above his and Ozai's head, Sozin's comet was painted looming over their great nation. While flames were painted in both hands of the last 'bad' Fire Lord, a flame and a baby dragon were painted in the hands of the most recent one. The difference was supposed to signify the change in the role that fire would play in the new world as a bringer of life and not just ash and destruction. At the feet of Ozai's flowing red and gold robes, an army with newly invented airships, war balloons, tanks, and artillery march onward to annihilate the Earth Kingdom. At the feet of Zuko's flowing red and gold robes, citizens of all four nations gathered not in submission but in peace and unity to welcome the new Fire Lord and the new era of peace and growth that he ushered in during his long reign. Huifan looked at the blank space to the right of Zuko's painting where Izumi would one day stand, her legacy immortalized in an oil painting. Huifan began to wonder what would be painted at the feet, in the hands, and above the head of her soon-to-be-aunt in her portrait.

"My guess would be flowers. Her name does mean _spring_. It is the season of change, and if we're being honest, she has changed MANY things. Most has been for the better, but for some, not so much," a voice said, breaking the eerie silence that hung heavy in the cavernous hall.

Huifan screamed and slid back punching the man with a rock instinctively.

"Sorry, did I say something wrong?" he asked, shoving the rock off and standing up.

That smooth skin, that long hair… those narrow amber eyes…"Taemon?" Huifan asked.

"Yes?" he responded in confirmation.

"Are you dead or something?" Huifan demanded. _FUCK! Why doesn't my seismic sense ever register him?_

"I don't believe so," he replied curiously.

Huifan eyed him suspiciously.

"You are free to check," he said unbuttoning the top of his shirt. Huifan looked away quickly. _This is COMPLETELY inappropriate!_ She thought, weighing the decision to flee.

"Relax, I'm not taking off everything," Taemon assured her, only exposing the top of his chest above his heart.

Huifan looked back at him, annoyed, but curious to why her reliable skill was rendered useless around this singular person. She slammed a firm hand onto his bare chest and closed her eyes. Sure enough, his heart was beating normally. She growled with frustration and let go, only for his presence to vanish off her radar until once again, she opened her eyes.

"So are you an earthbender or a firebender? Even among earthbenders, it is extremely rare to be able to have the acuity to counter the resonation of one's own heart beat." Huifan asked, completely bewildered.

"Who said I have to chose one or the other?" Taemon asked.

"Only the Avatar can bend all four elements," Huifan said, skeptically raising an eyebrow.

"How do you know the Avatar is the only one?"

"Because-"

"Because it is something so many people have told you. Who said you have to choose if you bend earth, or lava, or blood, or maybe even... water?" Taemon asked.

Huifan's eyes narrowed as her brain struggled to comprehend what he was saying. "You're not making any sense," Huifan said, turning to walk away.

"Wait, Miss Yeshe! Before you go, may I at least tell you a story?"

"It depends. How long is your story?"

"It will only take a few minutes. And then I have a gift for you back in my study-"

Huifan shot him another look.

"It is a tool," he explained in an attempt to ease her suspicions. "You can trust me, Huifan. I'm a Lee. Even the Fire Lord and your Uncle trust me, and they have known me since before I was even a teen."

"Alright, I'll hear your story," Huifan relented.

"There was once a man named Kage Yamakatsu who was born to a poor family in a tiny village on one of the outer isles of the Fire Nation. When Yamakatsu was six years old, his little sister fell off one of the cliffs above the water. He wished so much then that he could be an air bender, to bound down there and save her from death, lift her spirit up again to be among the living. Alas, he was a firebender, and an untrained one at that. He tried to get down, using thrusters to slow his descent to be safe, but he was too late. His sister died the next morning from a head wound. With a waterbending healer, she might have lived but the Healers Without Borders only came to their island once a year.

"When Yamakatsu was older, he went to the United Republic where people from all nations came together and lived in relative peace, sharing their wealth of knowledge and talents to create a remarkably advanced civilization that we now know as Republic City. His favorite place in the city was the City's Library where archives from all over the world on the people, clustered, fighting and bending styles were collected. There, he discovered several books of great interest that became the foundation of his life's work. The first was by the original General Iroh, the Dragon of The West, son of Azulon and Ilah. The book discussed the importance of learning about other nations and their philosophies, not necessarily to gain the upper hand, but to better understand oneself and one's own ability and purpose in the world.

"The second book was written by Avatar Aang based on the teachings of a Guru Pathik who took up residence in the Eastern Air Temple after the Air Nomad Genocide in 0AG. This one talked about the interconnectedness of the world, all of its inhabitants, and the four elements. In one section it even discussed how an Avatar went about opening all seven chakras in case… In case the knowledge was lost and the next Avatar's connection to the all previous ones, severed.

"Those two books served as a guide for Yamakatsu to discover new limits to his bending and unlock abilities never seen before. Legend tells that he managed to obtain airbending by unlocking the air chakra. To test his hypothesis, he took in a young orphaned girl and guided her through the same process as him and together, they crossed over into another element."

"That's impossible!" Huifan dismissed skeptically. "I don't believe it."

"You don't have to believe something to understand it. Come now. I want to show you something, Huifan," Taemon said beckoning her to follow.

She glanced around. As far as she could see there were no guards, nor member of the Amber League. They were completely alone. He led her to the offices in the Palace where he had a desk room and a laboratory of his own to experiment with Fire Nation alchemy.

"In here," Taemon gestured.

"I don't feel comfortable going in with just you alone," Huifan said, staying in the hallway.

"My handler is in there, if it makes you feel better."

"Handler?"

"A member of the Amber League. Izumi assigns at least one to each of her children, to keep her updated on all of our activities and needs, since we're all grown and live so far away."

"I'd still rather stay out here, thanks."

"Suit yourself. I'll bring a cart," he said with a shrug, disappearing into the dimly lit lab.

He re-emerged with a couple of clear cups, one filled with water, and the other filled with what looked like pieces of metal.

"You should be able to bend these," Taemon said lifting Huifan's hand and pouring the pieces of solid metal into it. "Don't worry, it's not poisonous. I'm not sure I could survive the wrath of the spawn of Toph and Satoru if I were to try to kill you."

"Good to know," Huifan responded uneasily, bending the metal into a single orb levitating between her two hands. She morphed it into several geometric shapes before restoring it to a bunch of tiny nuggets.

"Could you use your metalbending to make the metal into several thin strips? It works easiest when the surface area to volume ratio is exceedingly large."

"Alright," Huifan said, bending each nugget into a thin strip with one pull of her hand.

"And now put it in the water."

Huifan tossed all of the metal into the clear glass cup. Taemon lifted the beaker and ignited a flame beneath it, boiling the water almost instantly. After a few seconds, all of the metal was gone.

"Wait! Where'd it go? Wouldn't it melt?" Huifan asked, perplexed.

"If it weren't in water, yes. But! What my college and I have discovered is that certain metals can dissolve in water. What you were just bending was a combination of salts and zinc pieces. The salts just contributed some extraneous metal components to the water, and the zinc was the easiest for my colleague to manipulate in the water so we never make a solution without significant amounts of it. They react together and form new—- things, if you will. We're not quite sure what the new things called, but the metal is still there-just invisible. See if you can feel for it, Huifan. Reach into the metals in the water just how you can reach into the iron of someone's blood. I know the concentration is small, but it should be enough."

Huifan held her hand over the glass cup but the steam burned her.

"Sorry!" He said, pulling the heat from it with his bending. She tried again and pulled the water out in a thin stream then dropped it.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's just strange bending metal I can't see, in water!"

"Your own grandmother, Toph Beifong, has spent her whole life bending earth and metal she couldn't see. There is no difference," Taemon told her.

"You're right," Huifan said, pulling all of the water from the beaker.

"The solution is called 'hard water.' All water has minuscule amounts of trace metals. All water is bendable by a metalbender, so if you're ever locked up on a wooden barge in the middle of the ocean like that fool, Ghazan, you have a means of escape," Taemon told her.

Huifan turned her gaze up to him with skepticism. "I'm sure that will come in handy," Huifan said sarcastically. She stood with a column of water between her hands, glistening in the dim torchlight of the palace halls.

"A moment please," he said, disappearing again into his lab before re-emerging with a green water skein. "I want you to have this," he said, unstopping it. "There is already some liquid inside, but if you ever find yourself suspended in a wicker basket for any reason…"

"I appreciate the thought, thanks," Huifan said, bending the hard water into the sack. He closed the metal cork fitted with rubber rings to seal the skein closed and handed it to her,

"Here," he said with a hand over hers.

Huifan felt a jolt of electricity run through her body when his skin made contact with hers. She wasn't sure if it was a reaction, or something of his doing, a result of his bending, but she liked it. It felt...different.

She found herself looking at his hand just resting over hers for a long while. It was almost hypnotic. Then she remembered that hand on hers was attached to that strange ghost of a human being.

"So… is that it then?" she asked, pulling her hands away and looking up at his smooth face.

"What do you mean?" Taemon asked.

"I mean, what next? Do we just stand here together or…"

"That would be my preference. Alas, unlike my dear mother, Fire Lord Izumi, I don't get to just take a week off from work whenever I please and assign one of my subordinates to take over all of my duties," Taemon replied to Huifan.

"I see. I'll just be going then."

"Do you need guidance back to your family?" Taemon offered. "I know the palace is rather vast and can be confusing at times—"

"I'll be fine, thanks. Navigation is the one thing my feet haven't yet failed at doing!" Huifan replied with a smile, still thinking about that strange sensation that jolt of electricity caused in her head.

"Good day, Huifan," Taemon said, bowing to her.

"Good day, Taemon," Huifan replied returning the gesture. _So formal they are in the Fire Nation._


	13. Underground

**Meat Street, Fire Nation Port, Fire Nation Capital**

Both girls had a second kebab, which pleased Izumi greatly. They both seemed far too skinny for their own good, but that could simply be because they weren't as muscular as she, Lin and Kya were back when they were pro-bending.

Izumi asked about Ursa's recent travels to Omashu and Miyoko about her university studies and that boy, Ikta Soren that lead the organization for which Miyoko served as Vice President. She seemed very reluctant to talk about him.

"Is he a crush or a secret boyfriend?" Ursa asked the younger girl with a smirk.

"Neither!" Miyoko yelled, snatching up their empty trays to go throw away. Both Izumi and Ursa laughed.

"We shouldn't be mean to her," Izumi said after collecting herself.

"But she is so cute when provoked!"

"She is." Izumi sighed watching her baby walk away. "And unlike somebody else I know, she doesn't burst into flames," Izumi added turning back to Ursa.

Ursa laughed. "Ma, can I get one more meat stick to go?"

"Sure," Izumi said, beckoning a few gold coins to her hand to give to her daughter.

Izumi looked down at the darts on her wristband and pulled one out, twirling it between her fingers, like a student would do with a pencil, while she waited for her daughters to return to their table.

She thought about Saru and wondered how his day with Baatar, Tenzin, and Bumi was going. She wondered if Su and Kya managed to convince Lin to join them on their spa day. She wondered if Rikuto would ever best Huifan in sparring or if her future mother-in-law, her father, and Aunt Katara were keeping out of trouble in their old age. Then she was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as she heard a blood-curdling scream. She turned to see a blast of blue fire coming from near the trash bins by a planter box in the eating area.

"Let go!" came another too familiar voice. Izumi turned the other way and saw Ursa on the ground, surrounded, and in the first direction Miyoko shoved against a wall. Izumi jumped onto the table to get a clean shot at the attackers in both places. She raised a hand in the direction of each girl. People dove out of the way and she fired lightning at their captors only for them to be replaced by others. It was a premeditated effort. Izumi held her fire and waited for the inevitable confrontation, her heart pounding out of her chest.

"Choose one, Fire Lord Izumi," a man in civilian clothes said, walking up to Izumi as his accomplices lifted the girls off the ground and held them like shields before their own mother. "The Princess, or the Bastard Half-Breed of your lover, Mr. Lee."

The crowded street fell silent as they recognized who Izumi was, even without her golden crown and silk finery.

"Release them and I may have mercy on your soul and your family," she ordered, her voice low and commanding.

"You are in no position to bargain while we hold their throats."

"You have no idea what I am capable of and you will regret every laying hand on my daughters."

"We might, but first, we will make you regret having them," the man said, sneering.

Izumi glanced between her girls' terrified faces and closed her eyes and fired her lightning. So many people, including her daughters, screamed when the bolts made contact with their bodies. With her precision bending, Izumi guided the energy around her girl's and into their captors and the captors' accomplices. The attempted kidnappers dropped their charges, and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. She sent just enough lightning to hurt them, to torture them, but not enough to fry them alive.

"Yoko! Ursa! Get over here now!" she ordered. They both ran to the table. Izumi let go of the lightning and grabbed them both by the arm and ran.

"Where are we going?" Miyoko screamed.

"Just shut up and trust me!" Izumi ordered dragging them into an alleyway creating a wall of flames. She yanked the grills off a drain. "In there, NOW!"

The girls jumped in.

"Ugh!" Ursa groaned as she landed in a river of city sewage.

"Come on!" Izumi said coming in after them, dragging them again by the arm out of the flow of the sewage and onto the maintenance sidewalk for the underground.

They walked in silence for miles, following their mother's blue flame until they came to a drain spout with various fluids pouring out of it.

"Through here," Izumi said climbing up into the spout against the water flow, her skirts getting drenched through with the brine.

"Ew! I'm not going in that city shit juice!" Ursa declared.

"Ursa do as I say or suffer house arrest for a year," Izumi ordered, waiting for the girls to go ahead of her.

"You know whats funny?" Miyoko asked as Ursa went first and Izumi took the rear.

"I didn't know anything could be funny in times such as these," Ursa grumbled miserably.

"Mother's threats are the opposite of most of her ancestors," Miyoko replied. "House arrest versus banishment." Both royals groaned as the young lady laughed alone while they trudged on through knee high sewage. It was a long stretch before reaching any maintenance sidewalks again.

"You know, it almost felt cleaner wading through the sewage than walking next to it," Miyoko commented, trying to break the silence.

"Why?" Ursa asked.

"Because you don't feel the squish of the feces saturated in your skirts when it's flowing around everything," Miyoko replied. Ursa gagged.

"Oh, get over yourselves!" Izumi said, holding her flame up to look at the roof of the tunnel.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Ursa asked.

"I know exactly where I'm going," Izumi said turning down another tunnel.

Finally, they came to a ladder. Izumi went first only to find the old door sealed. She put both hands on the metal and melted the hinges right off.

"Look out!" she yelled to the girls as the metal door fell to the bottom of the tunnel. She looked at the stone that had been paved over in the most recent renovation and blast through it with a fist of fire. "All clear!" she said climbing through, sitting on the edge, helping her daughters out of the hole.

They were by a window in a tower. "We're back at the palace?"

"Why couldn't we just have gone to the car?"

"I didn't know how many of those guys were lurking in the port city and needed to get you two to safety until we can conduct an investigation, so I just brought us directly back here," Izumi explained looking out the window.

"Which part of the castle is this? I don't recognize it." Ursa asked.

"Part of Azula's Forbidden Quarter," Izumi answered. "You've never been in this deep. I'll call for help," Izumi announced climbing onto the windowsill. She shot sparks into the sky.

"Why do we need help if we're back at the palace?"

"Because I don't want the contents of the city's sewers all over the floors of my palace; it's disgusting." There was a clap of thunder and then more lightning. Izumi returned with another pattern of sparks. "They will bring us a change of clothes.

"Is that how you communicate with Father over long distances or something?" Miyoko asked.

"Short distances. There's— something else we use for long distances," Izumi said, thinking of her inner fire and the six dragons that lived inside of her.

"We heard what happened!" Masaru said running in the room followed by Genkei, Tadashi, Rinjuk, Sunako, Iliana, Ursa's maid Marnie, and a dozen guards.

"Thank goodness you're all okay!" Iliana said offering a hand to the Fire Lord as she slid off the windowsill.

Iliana lifted a robe while Izumi shed her filthy clothes right there in front of everybody.

"Uh…" Both Ursa and Miyoko looked at their mother strangely.

"Once you've had an audience for your bedding ceremony, you stop caring about public nudity. But if it makes you feel better, Tadashi, will you build privacy walls for the girls?" Izumi asked.

The earthbending member of the Amber League stomped his foot and created three walls blocking the Princess and her little sister from view as they changed with Marnie and Sunako's help.

"I can't believe she just dragged us through the city sewers all the way back to the palace!" Ursa whispered, shrugging off the dress and yanking off her boots.

"I can't believe she shot lightning at us-" Miyoko replied. "-and we didn't feel a thing!"

"And you're both still alive and back at the palace, so stop complaining," came Izumi's voice over the earthen walls that Tadashi made.

Sunako exchanged a glance with Marnie.

"Father, what did you do to her?" Miyoko asked Masaru while Izumi was occupied talking to Genkei.

"What do you mean?" Masaru asked.

"Mother seems different today than she usually is," Miyoko explained.

"I told her to be herself and more honest with you girls," Masaru informed her.

"Father, would it be a crime to say that our Honest Mother is even more annoying and terrifying than Fire Lord Mother?" Miyoko asked. Masaru frowned.

"I didn't think that was possible until today," Ursa added standing beside Miyoko in a robe.

Tadashi collapsed the earthen walls back into the floor of the Palace.

"Mother, permission to go bathe," Ursa called.

"Yes, and Yoko, sorry we didn't make it to the Artisan Street for your wind instrument. I guess we'll just have to go again another day," Izumi said.

"It's alright, I can just go with friends once I am back at school," Miyoko replied as she and Ursa went their separate ways.

"Other than the attack, everything else has been okay?" Izumi asked Genkei.

"For the most part, yes," Genkei responded. Just then a guard ran in.

"My lord, interim Fire Lord Kei-Lo is in need of your immediate attention. A detective from Shu Jing and a constable from the island of Hau Ting has discovered a link between ALL of the kidnappings that have occurred in the outer isles in the past decade!" the guard announced in a single breath. "He is in a meeting now with the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Chief of the anti-human trafficking ring."

Izumi turned to Masaru. _There goes our family vacation._ "I'll be right there," Izumi said leaving with Iliana to change quickly before joining Kei-Lo in the meeting.


	14. Fire Boys

**Opal's Bedroom, Fire Nation Palace**

The gentle-spirited daughter of Suyin sat on her crimson bed sifting through photographs from her morning out with Jiexue and Ikki while they were off playing airball with Kang and Meelo when Huifan came running in in a frenzy. "OPAL! How- how did you know if a boy likes you?" the older girl asked leaping onto Opal's bed. Opal used her airbending to save the photos from getting crumpled just as the earthbender landed on the covers.

"Fa-Ni! Be careful! You could have torn something!" Opal scolded gathering up all of the polaroids into a pile.

"Sorry," Huifan apologized.

Opal stowed the photographs away in the bedside table and gave her full attention to Huifan, anticipating a very unusual, if not interesting conversation coming. "But to answer your question, it depends. I mean, every boy is different. Bolin was kind of easy because he is very… straight forward. He doesn't really have a filter when it comes to who he likes and used a TON of cheesy pick up lines."

"UGH!" Huifan growled in frustration. "That doesn't help me!"

"Why? Is that one fire boy flirting with you?" Opal asked with a smirk.

"Well, that's the thing… I can't tell! He is the only person I have EVER met that is able to sneak up on me. I was really suspicious at first because I thought only earthbenders could cancel out their own heartbeats, but Masaru and Izumi trust him so, so I kind of gave him the benefit of the doubt. Then he began telling me this long story about some guy who supposedly taught himself how to airbend from some books by Avatar Aang and General Iroh but then told me that he wanted to give me a gift and so we went to his study and-"

"WAIT BACK UP!" Opal yelled. "He wanted to give you a gift and you essentially accepted it WITHOUT knowing what it is AND went with him to his study?! Did you even have an escort?"

"No, but I figured I could take him if he tried anything fishy since I kinda have managed to beat everyone I've ever encountered including a jerk-ass bloodbender."

"Fair enough. Wait. This is Taemon right? But I thought that said he wasn't allowed to court a Beifong! He said so himself! Because his adopted father is a Beifong and-"

"I guess they made an exception because he is not a blood Beifong so it is technically not incest? I don't know! They say we don't get to choose who we love, so maybe they lifted that rule about not courting a Beifong specifically for him."

"Do you think it's love?"

"I don't know I only just met him! That's why I was asking if you knew any clues, like how to tell…"

"But before we get to that, let me just get this straight, YOU WENT TO HIS STUDY? Were you alone?"

"Well his handler was in the laboratory, so we weren't completely alone, and I didn't go in. I just stayed in the hall and he brought things to me."

"His 'handler'?"

"The Fire Lord has a handler assigned to each of her children now that they're no longer all living under her roof full time. They keep her informed on her children's activities."

"So she's spying on them? Hm… Even _my_ mom never did that…"

"Maybe she does have Dai Li Agents on you but just hasn't told you. Anyways, do YOU think Taemon likes me?" Huifan asked, eagerly uncapping the water skin and bending the water out it, shocking Opal.

"How should I know? I haven't even seen you guys interact AT ALL! And you've only spoken to him like what, twice?"

"But he gave me a gift!" Huifan said bending the water around herself and then back into the skein.

"That doesn't mean anything other than he's generous!" Opal said swatting the bag away. "You're acting like a child whose hair just got pulled by some kid on a playground!"

"Hey!"

Just then Xiaoyu ran in positively beaming.

"Good, you're both here!" she exclaimed sitting on Opal's bed.

"Where's Jinora?" Opal asked, surprised.

"I only just got rid of her…"

"Rid of her? But I thought she was your favorite sister!" Opal asked puzzled by Xiaoyu's announcement.

"We sort of had a falling out in the library earlier. See, all of the filing in the Air Nomad Section has been recorded in some ancient script that neither of us could read, but then Kohaku showed up and was helping us and then suddenly she got all suspicious of him for some reason, thinking he was going to set everything on fire because he was raising the temperature of the area, but I didn't feel it. I told her if she didn't want to stay, she could just go to another section of the library but she didn't want to leave me with Kohaku was just being incredibly rude and he really is a nice and extremely knowledgeable guy and so while we were on our way back here, I made her go hang out with Kang and Meelo."

"And she went willingly? Why?" Opal asked.

"Because I threatened to ask Kohaku send his Amber League after her if she didn't listen to me…" Xiaoyu replied with a mischievous grin.

"YOU did WHAT? Seriously? Sweet little Xiaoyi exploiting the Fire Lord's personal secret police to get rid of her little sister for an hour at most, probably?" Huifan asked.

"I needed to ask Opal some very important questions since she _is_ the most experienced out of all of us with… courting..." Xiaoyu explained.

"Now that I think of it, you know Jinora does have a boyfriend. Kai? Remember him?" Opal reminded her.

"But they're just children. You're twenty-one. I trust your judgement a whole lot more than a fourteen-year-old's."

"Fair enough," Opal shrugged.

"WAIT KOHAKU? Isn't he one of the- did a fire boy hit on you TOO?" Opal asked clapping her hands over her mouth.

"TOO?" Xiaoyu turned to Huifan who was also grinning.

"Taemon taught me how to waterbend using metals that naturally occurs in all water at varying concentrations," Huifan said opening the skein and showing off her new ability.

"Well I don't know how fire boys operate since I've only ever dated Bolin and he's so… easy," Opal said. "But you know who might be able to help you?" Opal asked with a smirk.

"KORRA!" they all yelled at the same time.

"All we need is a radio!" Huifan said.

"And the direct line to the Sato Mansion, unless we want to be on hold for days with a secretary who may or may believe we're friends of the the CEO of Sato Industries and not pass on our call." Opal added.

"Do you know it?" Xiaoyu asked Huifan.

"No, but you know who might?" Huifan asked. "A member of the Amber League!"

"They're not going to help us!" Xiaoyu exclaimed elbowing Huifan. "And we can't ask Taemon OR Kohaku, because you KNOW they will insist on hanging around for the conversation!"

"Wait! But aren't Aunt Lin and Uncle Saru co-owners of Earthen Fire Refineries? Maybe they have a direct line to the CEO of one of their biggest clients, Future Industries!"

"But we can't ask Ma, she'll probably shut it down AND make fun of us."

"We can try Uncle Saru."

"I don't know, we don't really know him that well and."

"I say it never hurts to ask!"

"Alright, but how do we find him?"

"That we can probably ask the Amber League for help with then he can get rid of them. They're supposed to know where everyone is in the Palace at all times."

"Alright!"

In a flurry they left Opal's room, hoping to find their rather mysterious uncle. They had only met him on a couple occasions; but from what they've seen, he was a man with many resources including command of the Amber League and ownership of the sole metal provider for Future Industries. If anyone could connect them to Asami Sato, it would be Masaru Lee.

* * *

**Radio Room, Fire Nation Palace**

They approached a palace guard. "Excuse us, do you know how to differentiate a member of the Amber League from a member of the Imperial Guard?" Huifan asked the man in the fancy armor.

"You don't need to. The Amber League will come to you. A member knows when he is needed," a man in a nobleman's clothing said, striding down the hall towards the three Beifong girls.

"I swear these harrowed halls have ears." Opal whispered.

"They might as well," the man chuckled. "We're simply dispersed fairly uniformly throughout the palace and have an extensive communication network and method to quickly transport information."

The girls raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances.

"My name is Hiryur, how may I be of service to you?"

"We were looking for our uncle, Masaru Lee. We had a few questions for him," Huifan answered.

"He is with the Fire Lord right now, but is not needed for the current case. If you will come with me, I am sure he will be glad to see you," Hiryur said, leading them to the throne room. "If you will just wait here."

The member of the Amber League had the clearance and authority waltz right into the closed session.

"What do you need?" Izumi asked looking up from the documents.

"Only Masaru, My Lord," Hiryur replied. Izumi waved for him to go. "Sir, three of your nieces would like to speak with you." Hiryur said, gesturing to the teens as the two exited to the hall.

"Opal, Huifan, Xiaoyu," Masaru nodded. "How have you been?"

"Um…" they glanced at each other nervously.

"Talking?" Opal answered.

"Ah, I see," Masaru nodded.

"It's a closed session? Did something happen?" Huifan asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Only Izumi," Masaru sighed looking back at the heavy curtains that covered the entrance to the Throne Room. "Hiryur said you needed to see me?"

"Right, we were just wondering if you had access to a radio room and possibly a direct line to Asami Sato Of Future Industries," Huifan answered.

He thought for a moment about which secretary he'd need for the direct line to Future Industries CEO. He knew where the radio room was in the palace.

"Hiryur, could you have Satoko Arakawa fetch the line number to Asami Sato Of Future Industries?

"Office or home?"

"See, it's two-thirty in the afternoon now so it should be about seven-thirty in Republic City; she should be home, now," Masaru said to Hiryur.

"Yes sir,"

"I'll meet you in the Radio Room, if you will follow me, girls?" Masaru said leading them away.

By the time they got to the radio room a woman stood there waiting for them. Her dark brown hair hung in gentle waves down her back and she wore no sleeves. When she held out her arm, they saw she had no hands. She waterbent ink out of a bag on her waist band and wrote on her arm

**_Hiryur received another assignment and sent me._ **

**_Direct line: Asami Sato, Future Industries - 19-39-249-1324-9_ **

"Thank you Sunako," Masaru said.

The woman nodded and then began to leave.

"Oh wait, could you stay with them, in case they need assistance getting back to the family?" Masaru asked.

She nodded again and returned to her former waiting place, by the window, where she could keep an eye on palace activities.

"Sunako, are you another member of the Amber League?" Huifan asked while the phone rang.

"She doesn't speak. She lost her tongue and her hands in a tragic accident years ago," Masaru informed the girls. Sunako looked down with a sadness about her, but no anger. It was in her line of duty to do and give whatever was necessary for her country.

"That's. I'm sorry to hear that," Huifan said looking at Sunako. She looked up at the metalbender and held out her handless arms and bent the ink into different characters.

**_I'm okay. My charge is safe and free, and so I am happy._ **

"That is good," Huifan nodded.

"Sato Residence," the butler's voice came over the phone.

"This is Masaru Lee of Earthen Fire Refineries, may we speak with the Lady Asami Sato?"

"I shall fetch her now," the butler responded.

"Asami Sato, Future Industries, you wished to speak with me, Mister Lee?"

"Actually, my nieces. I believe you are familiar with Huifan, Xiaoyu, and Opal," Masaru said.

"Your- nieces? Oh! Right! You're Lin's brother! Forgive me! I am still not used to this whole thing," Asami said apologetically.

"Don't worry, we're still adjusting as well. I have a feeling this conversation will not be needing me, so I am going to return to the Throne room and leave you girls to it, is that okay?"

"Of course!"

"Yeah!"

"Sure!"

"Thanks Uncle Saru!"

"Any time, girls," Masaru said, waving before leaving the room.

"Is Korra also home?" Huifan asked.

"Why?" Asami asked.

"We need all of the expertise we can get on how to tell if a fire boy has a crush on a certain somebody?" Xiaoyu explained.

"Yes, how did you and Korra find out that Mako liked you?" Opal asked.

"Wait- Who asked who? Why do you need to know?" Asami asked.

"I heard my name," Korra's voice came across the phone.

"Well this one guy, Kohaku was hitting up Xiaoyu in the library,"

"He was not hitting me up, he was just telling me stories and helping us navigate the Fire Nation's archaic archival system! At least he didn't give me gifts like Taemon did to Huifan!"

"What? Huifan got a gift from somebody?"

"On their second meeting!"

"It is literally just a sack of special water!"

"Healing water?"

"Metallic water."

"Wait- That's a thing?" Korra asked.

"Yeah!"

Sunako looked up, eyes wide, in horror, anger, then determination.

She bent water into characters on the table before the girls.

**_Hiryur will return in a few minutes. I have to go._ **

The three girls watched her flee down the steps.

"Is everything alright?" Korra asked.

"Yeah, sorry, our…handler just left," Opal replied.

"But another is coming soon. So where were we?" Xiaoyu asked.

"Well we were talking about how Mako was kind of an idiot," Asami said before giggling with Korra.

Huifan, Xiaoyu, and Opal all laughed.


	15. The Proper Distractions

**Miyoko's Bedroom, Fire Nation Palace**

The Princess found her sister's bedroom easily in the resident quarter. The doors were so much closer together, and the rooms, presumably much smaller, served as a constant reminder to their occupants that they weren't royal.

She knocked on the door. "Hey, Miyoko, could I talk to you?"

"Of course, Princess Ursa," Miyoko replied, opening the door from the chair at her desk that faced the shared wall with the hallway. Yoko's twin-sized bed stood against one wall with its side only three feet from where Miyoko sat at the desk working on calligraphy. In Ursa's room the bed was over four yards from any of the four walls, queen-sized, and on a platform with for posts, a canopy above it, and curtains that hung around it. The difference was jarring, though Ursa did her best to hide it.

"You know you don't have to call me Princess, right? You're my sister," Ursa said, remaining standing in the doorway.

"I may be a dissident, but I am not impudent or ignorant. I know my place in the Palace, in the Nation, and in this family," Miyoko said, dipping her brush and continuing the practice of the character 'Ren' for something.

"What's it for?"

"A poster."

"Even during spring break?"

"The world doesn't stop turning, so why should I stop working?"

"Because we're supposed to be on family vacation?"

"Alas, unlike dear Mother, most people in this society are unable to just take a week off from work whenever we please and assign subordinates to take over all of our duties," Miyoko replied.

"It's unfortunate."

"It is just how things are." Miyoko said, dipping her brush again. "You can sit anywhere. I know there are not many options in here, but I don't mind where you choose."

Ursa hesitantly perched herself on the edge of the neatly made bed. "Look, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior recently. I know you didn't ask to be brought here or to be born into this fucked up family and I shouldn't be angry at you for our mom's poor decision making and I just- I wanted to call a truce…and to ask you to consent to coming to both the wedding and the subsequent coronation and become a Princess alongside me."

"I thought we were a threat," Miyoko replied, a hint of animosity in her voice. "At dinner you implied that-"

"I was just bitter and angry and didn't know how to cope with being lied to. Genkei is right. I don't want to be Fire Lord and you're right that Takeo would be best for the job anyways. He is a high-ranking general in the Fire Nation Army, he knows the people, and he has a good heart. He's not insecure and easily shaken like me. And...Mom's right in that it is awfully lonely being a princess without anybody. You're lucky you get to go to university and meet people your age."

"You're not alone. You have Huifan Yeshe-"

"Yes. We're just as close as Mom is to Suyin Beifong, but we never really get to see each other since we live on opposite sides of the world. Please, Miyoko if not for either of us, for Mom. Join me."

"The Royal Family doesn't need a dissident creating a stain in their family tree."

"Trust me, Miyoko, your little sign waving is nothing compared to what 60% of the Fire Lords in the last centuries have done to our family tree. Don't worry about staining anything."

"Do you want to know the real reason I joined the opposition, Ursa?" Miyoko asked Ursa.

"Why?"

"Because I saw how miserable being Princess made Mother. I saw how unhappy she was every time a messenger came to take her away from us. The more I read the more I came to hate the regime that treated the Royal Family as nothing more than a symbol. The absolute authority was an illusion created by the institution and growing up royal only ever meant sacrifice and duty for the stability of the nation. It honestly seemed like the lowest one could be in the social hierarchy. Mother was dehumanized, valued only for her fertility, and reduced to an object for trade and it made me so angry. I thought that by joining my organization and potentially ending the regime, I could possibly save at least part of Mother's life so that she could spend some time with me before she died. But she's in too deep. Her duty to her people had been ingrained into her brain too early. There is no saving her," Miyoko said sadly.

"How old were you when you decided to pursue this?"

"Ten maybe. I don't remember exactly when. She had been called away to deal with some northern chieftain of the Water Tribe and I was angry, because she had promised to take to the Sun Warrior's ancient civilization. She forgot about it completely. My father ended up accompanying me. I could have died that day. I could have been roasted alive. If I were unworthy of my own mother's attention, how could I be worthy enough to be entrusted with the secrets of firebending. I climbed the stairs crying because I knew she wouldn't even be there to say goodbye if I did get roasted alive. So I decided upon my return that I would do everything in my power to end the very thing that took my mother from me: the institution."

"Well, that institution is pretty much gone. Since Mother is kind of officially supreme ruler, she can make whatever changes she wants. I mean, I am a princess and I get to do essentially whatever I want."

"With or without her? I understand that we would both still have freedom to be whatever we want to be, but we're still without a Mother," Miyoko replied.

Ursa leaned forward and placed a hand on her sister's free one. "That will change. If today proved anything, it's that there's a chance for us to be a family."

* * *

The way the Beifong girls raved about Taemon Yamakatsu made Sunako sick to her stomach as she remembered the man's voice so very clearly once said, "Take the child. Kill her handler. Let there be no bloodshed." She shivered as she remembered that dreadful night. Sunako was young then, only eighteen years old when she lost her tongue and both her hands in that vicious fight. Only eighteen years old when Taemon Yamakatsu put an end to her happy life. Why then did she stay in the Fire Lord's service? One reason: Miyoko. Miyoko was her first friend and her best friend, and she was Miyoko's.

_She was eighteen when she met the then-twelve-year-old girl. Miyoko looked up at Sunako with a pure, genuine sense of excitement._

" _Hello Miyoko, my name is Sunako and my job is to make sure nobody hurts you," Sunako explained to the girl._

" _I can protect myself, but if it makes my mother feel better, you can stay, under one condition."_

" _And what is that?"_

" _You play with me."_

" _Play?"_

" _You know! Like pai sho or kuai ball or mahzhong duel. As long as I don't get hurt, it's okay right?"_

" _Yes, I guess."_

" _Then let's go!" Miyoko said, dragging Sunako away excitedly._

_Sunako laughed. This child was so full of energy, but still so sweet and kind. During meal times, when Sunako was supposed to stand guard, Miyoko invited her to sit at the table. She shared food with the civil servant at the table that was supposed to be reserved for the Royal Family._

" _I can't finish it all anyways and I hate to see it go to waste," Miyoko explained, looking longingly out the window._

" _Won't your parents come eat it with you?" Sunako asked._

" _No, they're always busy," Miyoko said sadly._

Sunako felt sad for the child. She realized then why Miyoko always invited Sunako to the table; nobody else ever came. The two went on all sorts of adventures throughout the palace and even in the capital city. They saw _the Boy in the Iceberg_ at the playhouse, they saw _Love Amongst the Dragons_ , they attended the Summer Solstice Festival, the Fall Winds Festival, and the Winter Spirits Festival together. For eight months, Sunako guarded Miyoko while she had her lessons with various tutors and teachers, and then once the girl was free, they explored the world together.

" _Sunako, can I tell you something?" Miyoko asked one night as they got ready for bed together._

" _Yes?" Sunako asked._

" _As much as I love you, Sunako, I sometimes still miss my Mommy," Miyoko explained._

_Sunako's heart broke for her. Miyoko didn't deserve the neglect she received, but she could not avoid it. She was born too late in her mother's life, in a time when the public demanded their Fire Lord full time thinking all of her children were grown and away at school, busy with no need for her._

" _I bet, sweet girl," Sunako replied. "If it helps at all to know, I'll always be here, and I can tell her anything you want me to."_

" _Can you tell her, that it hurts me sometimes when she's not here?"_

" _I will," Sunako said. In tomorrow's report, I will._

"Sunako, do you happen to know where Huifan is?" Princess Ursa asked, bringing Sunako out of her own memories.

Sunako uncapped her bag of ink, not once breaking eye contact with the princess, not even to glance at the little sister beside her, Sunako's own former charge.

 _ **Radio Room**_ , Sunako replied **.**

"Thank you, Sunako," Princess Ursa said, walking away with Miyoko. Sunako followed.

"Isn't there somewhere you need to be, Sunako? You were heading in the opposite direction as us," Ursa asked the high-ranking member of the Amber League.

With the ink still hovering at her left nub, Sunako had to think quickly. _**I am to not leave you girls' side until the Fire Lord returns from her journey.**_

"Journey? But we're on vacation! Where is she going?"

 _ **Outer Isles. A large leap in progress has been made on a series of old abduction cases, linking them all. Those in the inner circle of the Amber League believe she will be gone for at least a few days, and because of it, she's heightened palace security, especially on you girls**_. Sunako wrote on her arm.

"Very well," Ursa said, accepting the story, continuing to walk with Miyoko to the Radio room.

Sunako hung her head as she walked. Her former charge didn't even recognize her, all of her memories of their adventures gone.

Sunako took a deep breath. Rinjuk would be easy to convince to let her stay by Miyoko's side, but if Ursa's handler, Genkei, came, she may not be so lucky.

* * *

Huifan, Opal, and Xiaoyu had just finished the call when the Princess arrived with Miyoko.

"You all look positively beaming, what happened?" Ursa asked Opal, Xiaoyu, and Huifan.

"We just got through speaking with Asami and Korra about boy stuff," Opal said.

"How juvenile," Ursa rolled her eyes.

"Hey, it's not our fault our mother kept us locked away for sixteen years. We simply don't know anything about interacting with people that aren't family!" Huifan explained.

Ursa smiled. "Anyways, there is someone I want you to meet. This is my little sister, Miyoko. Yoko, this is Huifan, Xiaoyu, and Opal. Huifan and Xiaoyu both belong to Lin Beifong and Opal belongs to Suyin."

"And you're Uncle Saru's?" Huifan asked Miyoko with kind, welcoming emerald eyes.

"Yes," Miyoko answered with a small bow.

"Why do you bow to us when we are not even royal?" Xiaoyu asked genuinely curiously.

"It has nothing to do with being royal. It's just—a customary thing to do when one meets a stranger here, I suppose. How do you greet strangers in the Earth Kingdom?" Miyoko asked even though she already knew the answer.

"The same," Opal answered. "With a bow."

"But you're not a stranger, Miyoko! You're family so you get the Beifong punch to the arm, because that's how we show affection!" Huifan declared proudly jabbing the eighteen-year-old in the shoulder.

Sunako could tell Miyoko was trying to hide her shock. Usually her emotions were under much more control, but the recent string of events had left her nonetheless… a bit shaken.

"It's no wonder Father fled," she muttered, rubbing the forming bruise. Fortunately, no one heard.

Opal clasped her hands together with excitement. "Where have you been the last few days? Do you live in the palace?"

"Actually, I live in the dorms at Ranshao Rikai university. I am a second-year student there," Miyoko answered clearly. "This is only my third day home."

"Wait! You go to school?! What is it like? Is it crowded?"

"Kind of…"

"Do you have a lot of friends?"

"Well I have a… best friend and a couple of other friends…" Miyoko replied.

_**Ikta Soren is not your best friend, he is your boyfriend. I was your best friend. Even if you don't remember it clearly, your mind is not letting you replace me.** _

"Are your classes difficult?"

"More or less…"

"What do you study?"

"Political Science…"

"Naturally and—"

"Spirits, guys, let her breathe!" Ursa interrupted.

"Thank you," Miyoko whispered.

"So what have you spent the last two days that you were home doing?"

"Avoiding everybody. Forgive me, I didn't want to intrude on your family…"

"Miyoko, how could you possibly intrude on our family when you ARE family?" Huifan asked. "It's funny that you an Izumi both seem to forget that you are one of us." Opal, Xiaoyu, Huifan, and Ursa laughed at the youngest cousin's apologetic nature.

"You know what is also funny?" Ursa asked.

"Enlighten me," Miyoko replied tilting her head slightly with a timid smile.

"You grew up outside of the palace, and yet ou act exactly like a perfect Princess Izumi pre-reform. I grew up in the palace and act more like your grandma Toph."

"I wonder why," Xiaoyu contemplated.

"There is nature and there is nurture. Perhaps I simply have more of Grandma Mai in me, and perhaps your behavior could partially be attributed to that good decade you spent as a nomadic vagabond out drinking every hippie you came across." Miyoko suggested.

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" Opal asked with uncertainty.

"Not at all!" Ursa replied. "It is just a statement of fact. My traveling days were… to say the least… filled with things better left unmentioned."

Huifan, Xiaoyu, and Opal all laughed. Even Miyoko smiled slightly as she very slowly warmed up to her cousins.

* * *

The airship was being packed with medical supplies, food, healers, therapists, maps, and copies of the national record for every person from that region as collected and archived by the Amber League. Like most cases that reached the palace, Izumi expected this one to be dealt with swiftly and silently. All she needed was the help of a proper detective.

She had already noticed some discrepancies in the reports collected by the investigator from Shu Jing that had been left for her, but wanted to verify that there wasn't anything else off or missing.

Izumi entered the Lavender Rose Parlor to find her future in-laws all lounging around with tea after a restful morning watching Rikuto, Hungjian, Wing, and Wei bout it out in the new power disk arena constructed deep in Azula's Quarter of the palace. "Forgive the intrusion," Izumi began to say before being cut off by her future mother in law.

"What did I say about you and your damn sorries?" Toph chastised Izumi, slamming her cup down on the coffee table before kicking up her feet.

Izumi winced. "Father, please," she begged the former Fire Lord who sat next to Katara rather closely.

"Toph, leave her alone, please," Zuko asked.

"If she's gonna be a be a Beifong, she might as well start acting like one and not apologizing for existing ever time she walks into a damn room." Toph mumbled.

"If I recall correctly, she is becoming a Lee, not a Beifong," Katara responded.

"Right, Lee," Toph grumbled.

"If I may proceed, Lin, I am afraid I need to ask for your assistance," Izumi announced.

"Based on the fact that you're back in those awfully uncomfortable dress robes and wearing your crown again, I'm betting something bad has happened or is happening," Lin inferred, standing up willingly.

"A detective from Shu Jing discovered an detail in a kidnapping case that connects not only it to another but to a total of three hundred and sixty seven abductions that have all occurred in the last decade," Izumi informed the group after quickly determining that everyone present had high enough security clearance in their respective nations of origin to be trusted with the information.

"Spirits, Zumi!" Suyin exclaimed, sitting up. "How could you let so many abductioins occur in such a short amount of time?"

Izumi turned to her, clearly offended, and almost forgetting their soon to be familial relations. "So many? Need I remind you that the Earth Kingdom sees more than four times that many abductions in a single day with only three fourths of our population?" She snapped defensively with narrowed eyes, glaring. Suyin held her hands up in surrender, not willing to further engage the Fire Lord at the moment.

"That aside, how can we help?" Baatar asked putting down his newspaper from Ba Sing Se.

"Actually, I was hoping just to steal Lin and maybe Tenzin away since they are both retired and….available to help with overseas issues. Under different circumstances, I would also invite Su, but I fear that her involvement could have some unfavorable ramifications for all of us considering her status as Earth Queen. Besides, Lin is a former Police Chief and has experience dealing with crimes like these," Izumi replied.

"Well good luck, I didn't even want to help anyways," Suyin responded, kicking her feet up.

"Thanks," Izumi replied, purposefully ignoring the sarcasm that laced Suyin's voice.

"So what gets the Fire Lord involved with these kinds of petty cases? Aren't there local or regional law enforcement agencies responsible for things such as these?" Tenzin asked Izumi.

"That is the thing. The local authorities have failed. There is no reason for a cluster of islands with as many resources as I have provided to overlook such a critical common detail that appears in almost every disappearance there in the last decade. Many of these cases went cold for years and the missing children declared legally dead. Recent evidence gathered by wealthier families of some of the victims indicate local authorities may be involved in some high-scale cover-up. One family even went as far as hiring a prominent detective from Shu Jing who discovered a pattern in how the public police reports were written and a plethora of other minor similarities, which suggests that the group of people running this ring work in tandem with the government. The parents are currently planning to take the information and march on the streets of their respective island in four days. To avoid international scrutiny, we are going to find the children, and return them to their families BEFORE that happens," Izumi explained to Lin and Tenzin.

"If this thing was so well covered up for so long, how did you hear about it?" Lin asked.

"The Amber League," Izumi answered. "As I have told you, my advisers are absolutely useless. I rely on the Amber League to serve as my secret police. It is responsible for providing me with reconnaissance on any possibly illicit activity occurring in the Fire Nation."

"And what have they managed to find on these kidnappings?"

"Surprisingly very little," Izumi responded.

"And they're experts at conducting stings and covering their trails?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever once considered they might be responsible for the kidnappings?" Lin asked, seeing the connection immediately.

"Impossible! Such an endeavor would be incredibly costly and immoral! None of my regional leads would ever authorize such a horrible operation!" Izumi promptly dismissed. "They know I would personally destroy them!"

The three were nearly at Izumi's office when a messenger came racing towards them. "My Lord!" He gasped, out of breath, handing Izumi a telegram.

"Yes?" Izumi asked, taking it. Her eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed in anger.

"What has happened?" Tenzin asked.

"The detective that that one family hired from Shu Jing has been found dead in his home from an apparent triple-murder-suicide, his wife and two children the other victims."

"That is…. Incredibly inconvenient," Lin replied sarcastically, glancing at the telegram.

"A word of caution for both of you before we begin this investigation," Izumi warned. "Well, more of a reminder. This is the Fire Nation and NOT Republic City or the Earth Kingdom. While there are procedures for handling information, suspects, witnesses, local authorities, high-profile, time-sensitive information, and the victims of these cases, none of those procedures apply to me."

"But nobody is above the law!" Lin exclaimed.

"This is not Republic City. This is the Fire Nation; I am the law."


	16. Taking Action

The Fire Lord's brood never was a very boisterous at dinner, but when placed in the same room as their Beifong Cousins, seemed to transform into entirely different people.

As children, the sons and daughter of Masaru and Izumi were taught that the wellbeing of the family was of utmost importance and that included the preservation of the family's reputation. The children grew up in secrecy, with nobody knowing anything about their history as they were never allowed to speak of their true lineage. Some became reclusive, consumed by their secrets while others became outwardly extroverted, often feeling like performers in their own lives having to wear masks to hide their true feelings. The never-ending show seemed necessary to keep the peace for their friends and families.

At one table, Taemon, Tetsuya, Huan, Jinkun, and Sasuke were engaged in some very passionate, yet reserved discussion on the state of the international economic situation among other political matters. At another table, Tatsuya, ever the competitor, was challenging Wei to an armwrestling match while Hungjian, Wing, and Rikuto looked on jovially all with drinks in their hands after having shooed the three youngest boys in the family: Kang, Meelo, and Rohan, away.

At a third table, the three youngest boys sat with Ikki, their Uncle Bumi, and Aunt Kya observing the rest of the family interact while listening to their Uncle Bumi's hilarious commentary. His humor quickly made them forget how upset they were when they were told they weren't old enough to remain at the former table when the cactus juice began to flow.

At a fourth table. Huifan, Jiexue, Xiaoyu, Jinora, Opal, Ursa, and Miyoko sat sharing tales about their very limited exposure to the world outside of their own homes. The Fire Nation girls and Opal were absolutely enraptured by their cousins' telling of their Father's estranged second wife descent into a jealous sort of insanity upon hearing that Tenzin had a wife, a life, and six children before marrying her.

 _So, Izumi and Masaru weren't the only ones hiding their children for their own safety?_ Sunako thought to herself as she stood along the wall of the Earthen Hall with Rinuk. Daisuke, Fenjing, Unako, and Rinjuk, watching the night's proceedings carefully. Takeo and Iroh were both absent from this dinner due to some last-minute emergency at their respective military bases. They were generals of the highest rank in the Fire Nation and United Forces respectively and could have EASILY taken the week off in peacetime, which led Sunako suspected they were simply avoiding any more potentially awkward confrontations. While none of the handlers were present during that disastrous family dinner in the Cherry Blossom Galley, Sunako managed to get all of the details out of a server that happened to be there that night and who happened to be conveniently frightened of amputees.

Nothing seemed at all out of place until Taemon strode over to the table where Masaru was dining with his littlest sister, the Earth Queen, and her husband, the architect, Baatar Senior.

"Mr. Lee," Taemon said bowing to Masaru, his voice echoing over the noise. Sunako turned her attention away from Miyoko for a second to focus on the former ward of Masaru and Izumi. "Your… majesty," he added bowing respectively to Suyin, easily flattering her with that stupid grin that convinced everyone of his innocence.

"And who might you be?" Suyin asked with a pleased smile.

"Taemon Lee," he replied pleasantly.

"He was our ward," Masaru explained. "…and a student of Iroh's at the Royal Firebendng Academy in his youth." Masaru answered for the boy.

"Oh?" Suyin asked lifting a chin and a brow curiously. "And how did you come into the Fire Lord's house hold?"

"Both of my parents were killed when I was eight. The Academy dismissed me after discovering that my father had left me nothing, but a legacy of debts hidden by our good name. There was no one to pay my tuition. Not wanting to see me reduced to a thieving street rat, our good prince tok me home and convinced his mother and Mr. Lee to sponsor my education, and later, adopt me."

"I'm so sorry to hear that!" Suyin exclaimed sincerely with her hand over her heart.

"Don't be," Taemon replied skillfully. "It is all behind us and I am in a better place now. I could not be more grateful for all MAsary and Izumi have done for me."

"So what brings you over this evening? I am sure it wasn't to divulge your life story to the Earth Queen, and your new Aunty." Masaru inquired resting his forearm on the back of his chair.

"Right! Well," He paused feigning nervousness. "In the absence of both the Lady Lin Beifong and the Master Tenzin, I thought it'd make the most sense if I were to ask you for permission to take Huifan on a date tomorrow, by the old quarry lakes, if she is willing."

"A date?" Suyin asked, turning to Masaru with intrigue. "I didn't know dates required parent permission at this age unless marriage was imminent."

"It is customary in the Fire Nation, especially when the woman of interest has Huifan's standing." Masaru explained.

"Standing?"

"Her father is the Grand Master of the Air Nomads, her mother is OFFICIALLY the Lady Beifong of Gaoling, one Aunt is the Earth Queen and another the Fire Lord. Her grandfather was the Avatar…" Masaru listed out.

"Right, sometimes I forget that we're all kind of…. Up there in society." Suyin replied. She was never old enough to join her big sister, her boyfriend, his siblings and the Fire Princess at all of those hoity toity events in Republic City decades ago. An age difference of six years wasn't that much, but it meant that she was often left alone while her sister and their friends went on with their lives. With so much freedom at such a young age, she became a street rat, a triad member, and an exile by the age of 16; as such, she never got a taste of the high life they lived as the children of war heros. She never experienced the grueling formalities or empty mingling, and she certainly never endured the flurry of balls and cotillions that marked their status in society.

"You're not just a wealthy dance teacher in a metal city, Su," Masaru reminded her affectionately.

Suyin thought for a moment then returned her attention to Taemon. "If you have lasted this long in the Fire Lord's keep, then I see no reason to not trust you with my darling niece. You may ask Huifan on a date and take her to the Quarry Lakes if she is willing."

Taemon beamed almost childishly. Sunako frowned as she watched. "Thank you!" He said bowing before hurrying over to the girls' table.

Sunako wanted to gag when she saw the metalbending prodigy gladly accept his invitation. Sunako became torn. She was not only monitoring her former charge, but also covering for Genkei as the Princess Ursa's handler while he accompanied the Fire Lord to the outer isles. Still, if Taemon was able to manipulate Huifan into joining him with whatever he was planning, it would be disastrous not just for the family, but likely for the world. Sunako had heard of her prowess in the most recent defense of Republic City and how she managed to bloodbend the disgraced former President and his brother, overpowering a waterbending bloodbender to escape rape.

Sunako looked back at the two daughters of Izumi with a heavy sigh of despair. She would have to remain at the Palace and trust that the Lady Lin Beifong taught her daughter well enough to be cautious around good-looking men with long hair.

* * *

That night, the girls decided to have a sleepover in the Princess's Chambers. The queen-sized bed that usually stood in the center of the room had been earthbent aside by the only earthbending girl of her generation in this family and replaced by a massive bunk bed in the shape of a letter that stood three beds high to accommodate Ursa, Miyoko, Opal, Huifan, Jiexue, Xiaoyu, Jinora, and Ikki, with one extra bed for all of the stuffed animals belonging to the youngest airbending girl.

The girls spent the next hour or so gathering spare mattresses and blankets from all ends of the Palace for everyone except the earthbender girl to sleep comfortably.

"Will Sunako stay the night with us?" Jinora asked Ursa, knowing that Sunako wasn't much of a talker these days.

"She is allowed to if she would like," Ursa replied. "Technically, only she, Iliana, Marnie, and mother are allowed even in my room without permission from the Mother-Lord"

"Is she the only female guard?" Huifan asked.

"The only female handler from the Amber League. She's not just a Palace Guard," Ursa replied. "There are other female guards, but none are as skilled as Sunako."

"In firebending?" Opal asked climbing into a bunk underneath Xiaoyu.

"Water," Ursa replied climbing onto a bunk above Huifan and under Jiexue.

"She's a Waterbender?" Ikki exclaimed climbing into a bunk above her stuffed animals and under Miyoko. "Then why is she so highly ranked in the Fire Lord's guard?"

"Because the Fire Lord understands that you can't always effectively fight fire with more fire," Miyoko replied with a certain finality in her tone as she extinguished the fire torches with a wave of her hand.

"You crash early," Jiexue commented with a smirk.

"Unlike you, I had to endure a dance lesson with the Earth Queen today. The woman's a beastly teacher! I don't know how the Metal Clan made it past its first year under her unyielding thumb!" Miyoko replied.

"Hey, that's my mother you're dissing!" Opal teased.

"They don't call me a dissssssident for no reason," Miyoko replied, jokingly emphasizing her position on the fringes of the royal Fire Nation family.

Huifan, Xiaoyu and Jinora all laughed.

"What's a dissident?" Ikki asked.

"A person who openly opposes official policy, especially that of an authoritarian state," Miyoko defined.

"OOOOOOOOOohhhhh! Wait! But isn't your mother and your aunt the heads of authoritarian states?" Ikki asked.

"Yes, but unlike most, I can separate politics from family. Now can we go to bed?" Miyoko asked.

"But we're not yet done talking!" Ursa replied, seeing several furious nods of agreement in the moonlight.

"So can we have the lights back?" Ikki asked.

"You don't need light to keep talking," Miyoko responded dully.

"But—but—"

"If you really need the torches lit again, I am sure the Princess will happily do it for you. I, on the other hand am far too tired," Miyoko replied, rolling over under her blanket.

"And grumpy!" Ikki added, eliciting laughs from everybody including Miyoko and Sunako.

* * *

After Izumi abandoned them to meet with regional leads of her Amber League, Lin and Tenzin decided to go to the main investigation tent and see what evidence they had to work with. They spent a good few hours and a couple cups of coffee going over file after file, each more troubling than the last. They had been conveniently organized by date.

"Correlations?" Lin asked Tenzin after a while.

"The victims get younger as we approach present day. You got anything yet?" Tenzin asked.

"They all can bend fire AND lightning OR are benders of mixed descent," Lin replied.

 _How odd,_ thought Tenzin. For most of history, lightning had been an extremely rare ability limited to those who could afford masters of the very exclusive bending art. "I didn't realize it had become so common outside the Royal Family." Tenzin mused, absentmindedly shuffling around some more papers with a furrowed brow.

"The current chief of police learned it on the streets of Republic City. Being able to do it wasn't rare, it was its mastery.. To this day, mastering lightning-bending is still uncommon outside the Royal Family," Lin replied.

"Was uncommon outside the royal family," Izumi corrected her, entering the room looking both mentally and physically drained after her meeting with the regional leads of the Amber League. "We started teaching it in the Royal Firebending Academy a few decades ago. In an attempt to put an end to the toxic elitism among the upper classes, we began admitting pupils from the lower classes born on the islands of the outer isles to the academy. Any bender, if powerful enough, could test into the Royal Academy. Most joined the Nation's army immediately after achieving proficiency, the best were recruited to the Amber League, and the rest allowed to return home to open up their own bending schools to teach what they learned at the prestigious school of bending. For every teacher we released, we sent with them a member of the Amber League so that we could track everyone who could generate and/or redirect lightning."

"Why would you need such information?" Tenzin asked, leaning back in his seat.

"For economic purposes." Izumi explained. "We needed to see what islands and regions could potentially defend themselves from a small-scale invasion and which ones would benefit more from the presence of a military base. It takes a firebender of a certain caliber with a superior amount of self control to be able to generate/redirect lightning. Those benders more powerful than others and could potentially defend their own island without our intervention."

"Why would they need to? Don't the bases have sufficient resources to reach all of the islands?"

"After the Hundred Year War, the retributions placed on us by the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes forced us to drastically reduce the size of our standing military. We had to become more efficient with what we were allowed to maintain. In light of that, I decided to collect data on the relative strength of every island and invest on building new, more advanced bases where needed and decommission the old ones in the more wealthy, self sufficient regions and repurpose their pieces. No matter what the other countries try to take, we will never be left a weak nation."

Izumi stood and walked over to the map of the outer islands that hung on the wall, the map a rainbow due to its color coding.

"The visible light spectrum correlates with the dates of the abductions. The assailants appeared to have targeted one island at a time. In the beginning, they took between two and six children at a time over the course of a few months before moving onto the next island. As time passed, the clusters grew. The group must have become better organized, more efficient, or both."

"They have been gaining confidence with time," Lin commented, seeing five red pins all squished at different angles into the same tiny island on the map. "Who has access to the census data on people's bending ability?"

"There's a regional archive center for each cluster of islands containing a population of between two and eight million people. Each center is manned by a team of a dozen with level four government security clearance and a chief archivist with level eight government security clearance who can access any data beyond birthplace, birthdates, and ethnicities," Izumi answered.

"How do you enforce that no level fours get into the bending data?" Tenzin asked.

"The level eights need to request a level ten to unlock the doors," Izumi responded. "Maybe we should conduct a spontaneous audit on the next archivist who requests access to the bending data, because it doesn't seem to be a coincidence that not a single one of the missing children are non-benders or even benders of only fire," Lin suggested. "And can we have a list of those with level 10 clearance?"

"Yes, but I must destroy it after you memorize every name on the list," Izumi replied.

"Fair enough," Lin shrugged.

Feng Au

Arnat Bahn

Shihuan Cao

Tetsuya Lee

Toshiro Miyuki

Norikano Niemi

Aiko Suzuki

Menglong Tang

Xu Han Wong

Duu Lam Zhi

Izumi held it up for them to see. "Tell me when you're done," Izumi said patiently.

Lin didn't need much time. Memorizing ten names was easy. "Done!" The paper went up in blue flames and turned to ash instantly.

"Wait!" Tenzin choked on the ashes.

"Sorry, Tenz," Lin sighed. She'd forgotten just how much slower he was than her at reading. "Zumi, are the level tens assigned to specific regions?"

"No, they're all based out of the palace, but are free to come and go as they please," Izumi answered.

"So they can answer a request from any region?" Lin asked. _If they can find the level ten that's been accessing the archives of this region, maybe they could find the source of this operation._

"They're all granted that clearance for a reason!" Izumi yelled with a dismissive undertone to her voice. "They can be trusted!" she insisted, opening the door. "Genkei, intercept all requests to access the bending archives and forward them to me without the receiver knowing."

"Yes, my Lord," Genkei replied, saluting before running off to alert the proper branch of the Amber League. He returned almost immediately after. "My Lord, one went through just yesterday in the Huang-vinh region," Genkei informed them.

Izumi scanned the map quickly. There were already seven pins in that region each denoting a missing person.

"And when is the call to be answered?" Izumi asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Genkei replied.

"We go then," Izumi decided.

* * *

"I don't want to do another dance class with my aunt," Miyoko whined as a piece of parchment floated in front of her face, Sunako following.

 _ **It will be good to bond with your cousins—**_ Sunako responded.

"I am not interested. I have banners I must complete before the end of the week! I've spent enough time recreating!"

 _ **Miyoko, please—**_ Sunako begged.

"Why do you even care so much that I bond with them anyways? Why do you even care about me? Rinjuk is my handler. I thought you were SUPPOSED to be following the Princess for Genkei!" Miyoko asked.

_**We switched—** _

"But WHY?" Miyoko asked, annoyed.

Just then, Tetsuya appeared out of the office behind Miyoko. Sunako's eyes narrowed over the young lady's shoulder.

"Miyoko! Sunako! What a pleasure to see you both!"

"Brother," Miyoko mumbled.

"You seem bothered," Tetsuya commented pointedly.

"Sunako has insisted taking over for Rinjuk as my handler, switching places with Ursa, and now she wants me to participate in some dance class with the Earth Queen," Miyoko replied with frustration.

"If you were interested in an alternative, I could use some help with an experiment. I would normally my dearest brother, Tatsu, but I expect he is in the midst of beating up some deserving sentry for laziness or possibly a lack of competence," Tetsuya offered.

Sunako's eyes narrowed in hatred even more.

"I am no alchemist, sorry," Miyoko replied, walking past him.

"It has nothing to do with alchemy. Only fire and lightning."

"I don't bend unless I have no choice."

"Then at least come watch the experiment and tell me if it is working."

"And how am I supposed to be able to know if it is or isn't?"

"I will explain what you should be looking for. Please, sister, it is a highly confidential experiment that is vital to the growth of progress of our great nation," Tetsuya replied.

Still not convinced, Miyoko muttered, "Fine."

"Thank you, Sister."

Sunako followed diligently, testing her bloodbending on the man in the office that Tetsuya just exited, pulling him out in a state of dazed confusion.

"Just—going to get some tea," the man said, quickly running off.

"Thanks again, for covering the call for me, Miyuki!" Tetsuya yelled after him in an uncharacteristically cheerful voice.

 _Covering the call?_ Sunako thought to herself. Something wasn't right.

* * *

Izumi wore her hair all pulled back into a bun with a small red flame decoration, not a single strand out of place. She had changed out of her formal robes into civilian clothes consisting of wide-legged pants, a red dress with long, wide sleeves, and a long black vest over everything, knives and daggers concealed up both legs and sleeves.

Lin wore a simple deep burgundy pair of pants with black leather boots with the soles cut out and a deep red shirt with a golden ribbon tied at her waist. Tenzin wore a black and red shirt that buttoned up the middle with some ballooning black pants tucked into dark leather boots, with a hat over his head covering his arrow and fingerless leather gloves covering on his hands.

"So who exactly maintains the census?" Lin asked. "The Amber League, or the official government?"

"It is a joint endeavor," Izumi replied stiffly.

"And how will you prove your superior security clearance?"

"If it is necessary, with this," Izumi said opening her hand to reveal a small blue flame. "Only four people in the world have ever been able to do it in recent history: my aunt, Azula, my two daughters, and me."

"That is an awfully convenient identifier," Lin replied.

"It is. Hopefully we will not have to expose ourselves though and can just sneak in after the level ten that comes to open the door," Izumi said as they entered the library. They began to peruse the magazine section nearby the exit when the official from the palace came to the front desk.

"Hello, how may I help you?" the librarian asked the man dressed in the robes of a nobleman.

"I am Toshiro Miyuki returning a request the archivist submitted to access the archives," the man replied.

"Miyuki? I have never heard of that name before. Let me just go check with the archivist," the librarian replied, retreating to a back room for a few moments. "The archivist says that he no longer needs to access the records, thank you. Your services are not required."

"That's odd. Every archivist knows the consequences of a false call," Miyuki replied, walking behind the desk anyways, proceeding with caution as the librarian took a few steps back, stunned.

Just then the archivist emerged from a back room and attacked the level ten.

"Now!" Izumi yelled. Lin and Tenzin attacked with earth and air while Izumi threw several knives, pinning the librarian and the archivist. To the wall. She strode over brandishing a blue flame in her hand. "Open the door, Miyuki," she ordered.

"My Lord." He bowed, then unlocked the door with a special bending technique.

Izumi held the archivist's hands for Lin to bind in metal cables, then she grabbed him by the neck.

"Tenzin, you may want to stay out here," Izumi suggested before pushing the archivist towards the open door. "Keep watch for civilians and hostiles. Knock thrice if you see anybody."

"Will do," Tenzin replied.

"Now you, show us to a soundproof room," Izumi ordered the archivist.

He didn't move. Izumi turned to the level ten, Toshiro Miyuki. "Have you ever serviced this sight?" Izumi asked.

"No, my lord," Miyuki replied.

Izumi closed the door behind Lin and raised a hand to Miyuki. He knelt before her and bowed his head. She touched the back of it and sent electricity through his body. He struggled to contain his pain and show no expression, and he didn't, for a long time as his body convulsed and his face contorted in pain.

"Stop it! Stop it, you're hurting him!" Lin yelled, shocked that her friend would willingly torture a subject.

"Remember what I said about this being the Fire Nation, and NOT the United Republic Lin. I am merely conducting a standard test," Izumi replied expressionlessly. She amplified the current being sent through his body, counting the seconds before he screamed.

"I serve the Fire Nation in whatever way my Fire Lord sees fit. Balance is key, but sometimes, a heavy hand is necessary," Miyuki recited weakly.

Izumi turned to the archivist crouched on the floor in chains. "Who wanted access to the archives?"

"It was just me, I swear it! I only meant to do some dusting so that when someone actually needs the information, it can be clear and easy to read!" the man blurted out.

Lin scowled as she listened to the man. _Sight could be deceiving_ , Toph had always told her. _It is only with the heart and the feet that one can see truly; trust your instincts_.

"Bullshit," Izumi deadpanned. Lin hated to admit it, but she agreed with the Fire Lord's assessment. "Who has been coming for the information, and what have you been giving them?"

"Nothing, my Lord! I swear it!"

Izumi looked at Lin, who reluctantly spoke. "We both know you're lying, Archivist," Lin said, closing her eyes as Izumi touched her hand to the man, making him writhe in agony. Lin turned away. After a few minutes, Izumi broke for him to take a breath before touching his arm again.

"How long are you going to do this?" Lin demanded.

"Until he breaks," Miyuki replied knowingly.

"Everybody has a limit, his is low, I know it. Someone easily implanted fear in him, but I can make him fear me more," Izumi said, touching both hands to him.

"My Lord!" He gasped. "My lord! You would not believe the power they possess! They've done it!" he choked. "They've crossed over! They mean to convert others!"

"Who!" Izumi demanded, standing up.

"I don't know!" the archivist cried.

"Liar!" Izumi yelled, reaching out to torture him again.

"He really doesn't know!" Lin confirmed, grabbing Izumi's wrist.

"They call themselves RL-1!" the archivist explained.

"How long have they been using you to get into the archives?"

"A decade at least!"

"Who do they usually ask for?"

"Lightning benders, and half-breeds."

"Half-breeds?"

"People of mixed heritage."

"This is impossible!" Izumi exclaimed, looking down and away angrily.

"What is going on? What is he talking about with 'crossing-over' and half-breeds'?" Lin asked.

"A while ago, there used to be a cult of benders who thought they could mediate their way to being able to bend a second element. It would appear they have a new following and are trying to raise an army out of the children from the fringes of my nation," Izumi explained to Lin and Tenzin. She turned her attention back to the man groveling on the floor. "For your failure to perform your duty as a loyal citizen of the Fire Nation, you will face ten years of grade F surveillance and be stripped of your security clearance."

"My Lord, mercy! Please! If they find out I have lost my post, if I can no longer serve them, they WILL kill my family! Surveillance is not enough!"

"Then show me to your family and THEY will receive asylum. You on the other hand, are just as guilty as the barbarians that dare think to rip children from their homes," Izumi replied.

"I didn't know!" the man replied. "I didn't know that was what they were doing!"

"You didn't know? You just told us they call themselves RL-1 and that they managed to cross over and are specifically asking for lightningbenders and half-breeds! You know EXACTLY what they are doing!"

Lin bent down and touched the floor.

"What are you sensing?" Izumi asked.

"His lies aren't the only inconsistent thing," Lin responded. It was so strange. It felt like the man had some training against truth-seeing, but must have failed the coursework miserably, for the lies that were supposed to replace the truths were just as shaky. Who was he working for?

* * *

"Dai, leave us, please," Tetsuya ordered his handler.

"Sunako, may we please have some privacy," Miyoko asked politely.

 _ **My orders are to protect you**_ , she quickly wrote out.

"I understand, but Tetsuya is my blood brother. I shouldn't need protection from him," Miyoko replied.

 _ **Shouldn't doesn't mean you don't need it,**_ Sunako protested, starting for the door.

"Listen to the daughter of your Fire Lord Sunako," Tetsuya ordered, slamming the door. Sunako stopped it with her forearm and looked up into Tetsuya's Amber eyes with pure loathing.

 _ **Hurt her, and you will never breathe again for I will freeze every drop of blood in your spirit forsaken body and crush you into a billion shards of crystallized water!**_ Sunako threatened, removing her water hand from the door allowing it to close behind Miyoko.

"Sister, I— I wanted to apologize," Tetsuya said, sitting at his desk, facing Miyoko.

"I thought you wanted to conduct an experiment."

"I just needed to get Sunako off your back. I wanted to talk to you—"

"I'm not much of a talker, if you haven't already noticed," Miyoko replied, starting to leave.

"Please, Yoko! At least hear me. I am sorry I have not reached out to you as your brother. Being a member of the Amber League and a personal servant to the Fire Lord has left me incredibly busy—"

"I'm sure it has—" Miyoko mumbled. She didn't expect she'd ever like that particular brother since she despised the Fire Lord and worked tirelessly to unseat the woman and end her Amber League.

"But I firmly believe that our desires align at the present time."

"How could they possibly?" Miyoko asked suspiciously.

"You despise the Fire Lord and the Amber League. It is no secret.".

"Yes."

"Well it is a secret that so do I. I want to ask you to join me, Miyoko. My ten years in the service of the Amber League have been enlightening from an educational and political perspective. I can show you powers you could never imagine wielding on your own, and together, we can rid the world of those two entities and free both our mother and the rest of the country from their brutally immoral methods of keeping the peace. All can be done without harming our dearest mother in the least," Tetsuya told her, bending down to look into her matching amber eyes.

"What you're suggesting is treason!" Miyoko yelled angrily.

"Treason for a free Fire Nation! Think of all of your friends at university, your organization and all of those oppressed by the Fire Lord's policy enforced by her secret police. Miyoko, we could change things!"

Miyoko sighed.

"You're a powerful bender, but you suppress your power, and I know why. It reminds you of the time you were forgotten, left to face the dragons on your own. I too have been forgotten so many times! We are SO much alike, Miyoko! Please! I need my sister, my TRUE sister beside me in the battle to come. Miyoko—"

Miyoko stood and grabbed his wrist where his hand moved to touch her arm. She bent it backwards. "I will help you return our mother to our family, but I will not help you destroy the government. Not completely, at least. One thing you should know about me, I cannot stand seeing a grown ass man groveling at a person's feet, especially a member of my own family," Miyoko growled, releasing his wrists.

"That is even more than I would have expected, thank you, Miyoko!" Tetsuya exclaimed.

"I will return here at precisely nine sixteen tomorrow morning for more details, but until then, don't bother me. I need room to think," Miyoko growled, leaving the room quickly to be picked up by Sunako.

"If I go to the fucking dance class, will you leave me alone?" Miyoko asked.

Sunako thought for a moment, remembering the exchange in Tetsuya's lab and nodded.

* * *

"RL-1– that must stand for something!" Lin exclaimed, furiously pacing in their residential tent.

"Red? For Fire?" Tenzin suggested.

"It makes sense," Lin replied.

"It stands for Rogue," Izumi said quietly, laying on her bed in her Grand Fire Lord Robes. "Rogue League." Izumi said running her fingers through her grey hair.

Just then the door to the tent was thrown open.

Izumi bolted upright.

"Sunako! You are supposed to be by Ursa's side!"

_**Forgive me, My Lord. In my place, BOTH Hiryur and Tadashi guard her. I had to come. I could trust no other! Taemon and Tetsuya are up to something! I fear the nation may be in danger, your family especially!** _

"They ARE my family! My sons! You DARE accuse them of conspiracy?"

_**This is not be the first time and will not be the last! My lord, listen to me, please!** _

"I don't have time for another one of your baseless conspiracy theories about the twins and—" Izumi began to say starting for the door, past Lin, Tenzin, and Sunako.

Sunako slammed the door with her waterbending and covered the handle and froze it then shoved the paper between the Fire Lord and the door.

_**It's not baseless!** _ _**Taemon has managed to get Huifan Yeshe to cross over, to water of all things!** _

"Impossible!" Izumi replied, kicking the door clean off its hinges.

Sunako covered the entire frame in ice then turned the Fire Lord to face her paper, holding her neck and head still so she would read.

"You— you dare use bloodbending against me? Your own Fire Lord? You are a member of the highest order of the Amber League!"

 _ **Yes, and upon joining,**_ _**You made me swear to give everything for the wellbeing of YOUR famil**_ _ **y, so that they may keep the peace in our Great Nation!**_ Sunako replied silently.

Izumi's eyes narrowed. "But crossing over is impossible."

_**It isn't. You said so yourself on numerous occasions after returning from your extended stays at the Beifong Estate in Republic City. The girl took to more of Kya's teachings than yours and even modified the water wheel to suit her needs and then octopus technique—** _

"Those could have just been convenience! Isolated events!"

 _ **You have the ability to rob people of their memories!**_ _ **Take mine and see for yourself what your soon-to-be niece is capable of doing! See Huifan going through the motions and doing the forms WITH THE WATER OBEYING!**_ Sunako ordered, yanking the paper aside seemingly instantaneously knowing that the Fire Lord read quickly enough to see everything. Sunako bloodbent the Fire Lord across the room and placed the older woman's hand on her own head and released her hold on the blood. _**DO IT!**_ Sunako cried silently.

Izumi dropped her hands and turned away. "I'm sorry, but I am a little busy right now if you haven't noticed—" Izumi brushed her off.

Sunako twitched with fury. _**LOOK AT ME!**_ Big bold letters spelled out on the page as Izumi's body turned to it.

"Maybe YOU are the traitor turning your colleagues rogue!" Izumi suggested.

Sunako's face changed from fury to hurt. _**I am not the rogue and I am not a traitor! YOU are betraying your own family by disregarding my warning. Tetsuya has aligned himself with Miyoko. He invited her to join him in taking down the Fire Lord and returning their mother to their family! I heard it!**_

 _ **I will return to the palace, but before I do, let me remind you:**_ _ **When I was eighteen years old and inducted into the league, you made me swear an oath to protect Miyoko Lee to the best of my abilities and I fully intend to do so until I die.**_ _**Miyoko is not just a former charge to me! She was like a sister and nothing— no memory you can take away from her or me can change that, Fire Lord Izumi! If Tetsuya is planning get her to cross-over to another element J**_ _ **UST LIKE TAEMON HAS DONE TO HUIFAN ALREADY**_ — _**they could be unstoppable. They will have the two most powerful benders in the family under their thumb.**_

"Yoko would never fall for such tomfoolery. She knows why we must remain where we are in the government. She's too smart to even consider doing such a stupid thing."

 _ **I thought Huifan was too when I first read about her heroism in the Siege Of Republic City, but it is funny how easily a girl can be swayed with some pretty words! Just think of how easy it was for Hisoki to fool your brilliant mother and convince her to give up your life to him**_. Sunako replied.

There was an explosion, Izumi's hair flashed blue and she broke free of the bloodbending and struck Sunako. The waterbender fell to the ground with a loud thud. "You dare—"

 _ **I do because it is the only way to ensure you're still listening. I know you, My Lord. I know you and I know your family, probably better than you do at this point. They need you right now. I have a feeling if you don't abandon this futile search now, everything will come together for who we are fighting in your absence. This is your last chance to come back with me,**_ Sunako begged.

"My family can wait. My nation is more important than my family right now. If you really want to launch an investigation, do it, but do NOT disturb my family any more than necessary to keep them safe," Izumi growled.

 _ **Then I will, but let me say this: you don't deserve Yoko. You don't deserve any of them. I will protect your family, even if that means ending two of your wayward sons!**_ Sunako said turning away to leave.

"Sunako!"

"My Lord! Should I go after her?" Genkei asked.

"No," Izumi replied, turning away.

* * *

By the time Sunako returned to the palace, it was already dark. She was exhausted, but couldn't get herself to sleep, so she went to relieve Hiryur and Tadashi of their guard duties outside the girls' room. She quickly counted the occupied beds. _**Where is Huifan?**_

"Still out collecting water samples from the quarry lakes," Opal answered.

"Ursa, Yoko, how long does it take to collect water samples from the quarry lakes?" Jinora asked, turning to the Fire Sisters.

"Why are you looking at us?" Miyoko asked, leaning over the rim of her earthen bed.

"We're not scientists or alchemists," Ursa shrugged.

"If there is anyone you should ask, it is Sunako. She was initially recruited for her skill in alchemy. They thought she could protect the family from attempted assassinations by poisoning."

"And she has."

"Sunako?" Jinora asked.

 _ **Depends on how many samples you want and what type of samples you need,**_ Sunako replied stiffly.

Just then, someone ran in.

"Fa-ni?" Jiexue called.

"You guys would not BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED! So yeah, we collected samples, but the real reason he brought me, was to show me this!" Huifan opened her water skein as both Ursa and Miyoko used their bending to light the remainder of the torches and chandeliers in the room again for light.

Huifan bowed to them and then showed off several classic Northern Waterbending Forms. "AND I can do the water whip! Remember that one technique that we read about in Grandfather Aang's memoir that stumped Grandmother Katara for DAYS when grandfather managed it on his first try?" Her sisters and girl cousins all nodded. "Well-" she demonstrated with the perfect flick of her delicate, metal-clad wrist.

"WOAH!" Ikki and Jinora exclaimed, watching in awe.

 _She's done it. She's crossed over!_ Sunako thought to herself. _Taemon's accomplished the first step. He's taught her the motions, taught her the feeling of water, and given her the encouragement she needs to explore it. She took to it so- easily, but then again, she is a direct descendent of master Katara, so why would that be at all surprising?_

"He says if I went to a waterbending school now, I would be one year away from graduating with mastery!" Huifan exclaimed.

 _Mastery, huh? What a misused word nowadays!_ The only true bending masters of their respective elements that Sunako could tell were Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, Toph Beifong of Gaoling and arguably Fire Lord Izumi. There were rumors about her fire coming from a different source than the dragons that taught her, but her candidacy for mastery came from her innovative uses of lightning.

Sunako was abruptly pulled from her thoughts by a knock on the Princess's newly installed door. It was the Earth Queen. Sunako bowed to her before stepping aside to allow the youngest sister of Masaru to enter the grand bedroom.

"Isn't this quite the set up?" Suyin exclaimed in her usually cheerful and seemingly innocent tone.

"We're having a sleep over!" Ikki exclaimed.

"It is our second one!" Jinora added.

"It must be fun!" Suyin nodded.

"It is! We get to learn so much about our cousins!" Ikki responded excitedly.

"So what brings you here, Mom?" Opal asked, resting her chin on the rim of her bed with her pillow rolled up under her neck.

"Actually, I have a message for Xiaoyu," Suyin announced, striding over to the beds.

"Must be important to have to be personally delivered by the magnificent Earth Queen," Xiaoyu commented, leaning over the edge of her bed, curiously.

"Kohaku has invited you to a wind symphony tomorrow evening," Suyin informed the seventeen year old.

"A wind symphony?" Xiaoyu asked, sitting up.

"Can we go too?" Ikki begged.

"Apparently the tickets to this performance have been sold out for months. The secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs was going to go originally, but his wife fell ill with food poisoning. Since they could no longer go and didn't want the tickets to go to waste, Kohaku ended up with them and wanted to go with you," Suyin explained.

 _How dreadfully convenient_ _ **,**_ thought Sunako.

"Wow! That's-" Xiaoyu began to say before stopping.

"Do it, Sis! Enjoy yourself!" Huifan encouraged Xiaoyu with a solid punch to the airbender's arm.

"Can I, Aunt Su?" Xiaoyu asked, rubbing her forming bruise.

"If I didn't want you to go, I would have declined Kohaku's request and NOT relayed the message," Suyin replied with a shrug of contentment.

"Thank you!" Xiaoyu exclaimed, practically floating out of her bed to hug her aunt. "By the way, you're a lot more fun than Mom!"

Suyin laughed. So she was the cool aunt now? Thank the Spirits indeed.

"Yeah! I bet if our Ma even knew that Fire Boys have so much as spoken to us, she would have earthbent them to Omashu to never be seen again!" Jiexue seconded. All of the girls laughed.

"Well, you should all probably get to bed the best you can. Those of you not going out tomorrow have a dance to rehearse for the upcoming wedding!" Suyin reminded them.

There was a chorus of aws before Ursa killed all of the torches in the room and everyone said goodnight.

Sunako waited until the last girl fell into a deep sleep before unstopping a vial of spirit water and approached the beds slowly. Miyoko was on a top bunk, at the middle of the U-shaped configuration. She lifted herself onto a pillar of ice and bent the water carefully to Miyoko's head. It glowed blue as it healed the old damage done by dark lightning long ago.

_**I will bring you back.** _

After barely a few minutes, the palace intruder alarm sounded. Sunako bloodbent herself back across the room as the girls all slowly woke up to the sound.

The guards were yelling in the hallway. Sunako could not be a commander in these situations, since she couldn't speak or get anybody's attention without physically turning their heads to face her paper, so she watched the chaos unfold in the halls as she remained in the girls' room.

_**Stay. We will wait for Tadashi.** _

"Jinora! I'm scared!" Ikki cried, climbing into her sister's bunk.

"We'll be okay. We have family to protect us," Jinora replied. Sunako checked out the window for any bodies on the roof and any below, then waited.

After a few more minutes, the alarms ceased and Tadashi appeared.

_**What are Masaru Lee's orders?** _

"All family to the Golden Galley," Tadashi reported.

 _ **You heard him,**_ Sunako showed her paper to her charges.

They all huddled together with their parents, brothers, aunts and uncles, and waited. Kya and Bumi took over for Lin and Tenzin and comforted Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan, who were rather shaken by the night's turn of events.

"It was a false alarm. You may all return to your beds, if you please," a member of the Amber League announced to the gathered family members.

"Sunako, please come with me," the member of the Amber League asked as people began to file out. "We need you to identify a substance we found on the sixth floor corridor in the south wing."

They came to a crime scene. A single armored man lay face down with a needle in his hand and a couple of broken bottles of some liquid laying nearby in a small puddle.

Sunako looked at the needle in the downed man's hand. "So it was not a false alarm?"

"He is not an intruder. He is a full-fledged, ranked palace guard on duty, and he had an entire pack of these," the member of the Amber League said, kicking a small piece of glass towards the man. Sunako drew a sterilized flask from her pocket with a stream of water. Keeping flasks on hand was part of her contract when she first joined the league as an alchemist conducting research. One never knew when one would come across some chemical of unknown composition needed to be sampled and taken back to the lab for further analysis. Though being an alchemist was no longer her primary occupation, Sunako still carried a few flasks on her person at all times just in case something piqued her interest. She waterbent the small puddle of the unknown substance completely off the floor and into her flask and corked it.

"I'll be in my study. Tadashi, you and Hiryur know what to do when I am busy," Sunako reminded the earth bender.

"Yes, Sunako. Good luck with— that thing," the earth bender said with a nod to the flask in Sunako's hand.

Sunako took the flask and one of the fractured bottles, and a needle back to her lab to begin the analysis. At latest, she'll know what this mysterious liquid contains before morning.


	17. Complications

When morning came, all staff not essential to the security sweep and food preparation for the day remained in the Throne Room while all of the family was still in the Golden Galley. Only those with the highest security clearance were allowed to leave to conduct a full sweep of the palace and deliver food to everybody.

"Do you think Dad and Mama Lin and Aunt Zumi heard about the intruder last night?" Jinora asked, waking up in Kya's arms.

"I don't know sweetie. I think it is likely considering how fast information travels with the Amber League."

"Will Xiaoyu still be able to go on her date with Kohaku this evening?" Ikki asked, still snuggled up between Kya and Bumi amidst a dozen crimson blankets.

"We'll see," Bumi replied with uncertainty.

"Are you hungry?" a palace serving boy asked, bending down to them with a tray of soups.

"Thank you," Kya said to him with a nod.

Nearby, Jiexue and Ursa woke up in each other's arms, leaping apart with a yelp of surprise. Huifan was discovered to have earthbent a tent right out of the polished floor to give herself privacy, much to the chagrin of one of the palace maintenance men. She then restored it effortlessly, bending the stone back into the place and the gold patterning down perfectly again.

* * *

"How's it coming?" Masaru asked, entering Sunako's Lair in the palace for the first time. It was deep underground, with the entrance concealed behind a portrait of a blue dragon in Azula's Quarter of the Palace.

After Mai convinced Zuko to bring Azula into the palace so that their daughter wouldn't sneak out at night for some secret lessons and lose valuable sleep, the Quarter became her home away from the gossip of the soldiers and the maids. After Azula left the Palace on some spiritual quest, the quarter became home to some of the Royal Family's greatest secrets including Miyoko until Izumi's coronation, and Sunako's lab. The expansive, state-of-the-art lab was where the waterbender continued conducting research in herbology and alchemy when she wasn't on guard duty. Nobody except Izumi and Masaru were ever allowed in. Even then, Masaru could not enter without receiving prior approval from the Fire Lord herself.

 _ **It is… different…**_ Sunako replied on her parchment. _**Do you remember, sir when you were seven years old and took your first alchemy class at the Royal Fire Academy for Boys?**_

"Of course! I don't know how you could, though since you weren't even conceived then."

_**I read your caretakers' records on both you and the Fire Lord as soon as I received the proper security clearance. I must say it was intriguing.** _

"What does that class have to do with anything?" Masaru asked.

_**It has everything to do with everything. You remember loving alchemy. It was like magic, being able to mix liquids that all looked the same, yielding heat, cold, and colors. Sometimes the liquids would explode when combined and sometimes they did nothing. It was fascinating.** _

"Yes, I suppose it was."

_**Do you remember what you had me work on when I first joined your service eight years ago?** _

Masaru shrugged.

 _ **Suiminmizu. It was a colorless, odorless poison that contained bits of this tiny organism that entered the body and fed off of one's chi-pathways, disrupting the flow, and disabling their bending**_.

"Is that what this is?"

_**No. This is someone trying to replicate our work and doing a shitty job, much like you and Izumi's early attempts at making wildfyre. The ratios are botched and some of the ingredients similar, but wrong. This liquid just put the guard to sleep.** _

"But why did the guard have so many bottles of it?"

_**That guard's name is Keikuo. There is no one in this palace with a gentler soul. Not even the personalities of the airbender children can compare to his kindness, positivity, and selflessness. That aside, I know he is also not smart enough to concoct a sedative with trace bits of a similar organism to what we used in Suiminmizu. I have reason to believe he was framed, and ended getting stuck with this prototype drug himself in the scuffle and then sounded the alarms before he went down completely.** _

"But I thought all records of Suiminmizu were destroyed."

_**Your fiancée ordered them archived, and the research halted.** _

"Where were they archived?"

_**Somewhere we thought they were secure, but with a new Rogue Group discovered in the Amber League, I believe that location may be compromised. They should be moved.** _

"To where?"

 _ **Here,**_ Sunako suggested, bending her ink into a pin hole in the wall revealing a secret library. She took a torch off the wall and lit the torches inside. _**My collection contains some of the most detailed books on alchemy and herbology that have ever existed. I have the personal notes of Princess Ursa, wife of Ozai and secret herbalist, and of Master Katara of the Southern Watertribe.**_

"They will be moved immediately. Until then, is the rest of the palace safe?"

_**You'll have to check with Iyuan. I had nothing to do with the sweep last night.** _

"Right, thank you, Sunako," Masaru said with a stiff bow.

 _ **Thank you, Mr. Lee,**_ Sunako replied, bowing deeper.

* * *

A gong rang out next to the throne in the Golden Galley. "After a long investigation and complete sweep and examination of Palace security, it has been concluded that the intruder alarm had been falsely pulled by a guard who made the mistake of showing up to work inebriated. He has been promptly replaced and all are safe to return to their previously planned activities. On behalf of the Fire Lord Izumi, I, Masaru Lee of Earthen Fire Refineries and economic advisor to her lordship would like to thank you all for your cooperation during these past few hours." Masaru announced.

"YAY!" Ikki cheered before jumping into Xiaoyu's stomach, throwing her skinny arms around her big sister's waist. "That means you can still go out on your date!"

Xiaoyu laughed as everyone else around her stood. "So Ursa, Miyoko, what does one wear to a Fire Nation Wind Symphony? I am guessing it is not as casual as attending a cinema to see one of Varrick's movers."

"Definitely not casual," Huifan confirmed, remembering the days back when they lived in isolation when she poured over fashion magazines from every big city in all four nations of the world. "You want something with a long skirt, long sleeves, short collar and jewelry. Everything long. The people of the Fire Nation are tall, and proud and like seeing sharp lines, for they believe it represents strength, discipline, and power."

"And your hair needs to be up," Ursa added.

"And you need a waist. You're not as beefy as Huifan but you're also not as skinny as a Fire Nation highborn," Miyoko informed the airbender.

"Hey! I'm not beefy!" Huifan exclaimed.

It was true that she wasn't. Though she was twenty-four years old, she still had the slender body of a teen. Her chest had grown some in the past year but she was still small. The long and thin genes she must have inherited from her father's side of the family. Xiaoyu looked a bit more like a lady in terms of body shape, but her figure was nothing like Miyoko or Ursa's; their waists were so small Huifan was surprised they had organs. .

"They expect their women to be strong, they just don't want to see that strength," Miyoko shrugged.

"So more training is spent working on flexibility and stamina than muscle conditioning," Ursa stated.

"Which is why I stopped training when I was ten. Shit was torture."

"Forgive the intrusion, Ladies. I heard a rumor that a dear niece of her Lordship was attending a Wind Symphony this evening and was in need of something to wear. I am most certain that I can help her there," an elderly maid said as she entered Princess Ursa's room, speaking to everyone while staring at Xiaoyu analytically.

"Sorry, but who are you?" Jiexue asked as she stepped in front of her sister protectively, folding her arms over her chest.

"Iliana, Miss," the elderly woman replied, unfazed by the protective sister's suspicions. After decades of the Fire Lord's various tantrums, she had grown immune to the angst of young, emotional ladies. "My mother served the Fire Lady Mai as her primary chamber maid and stylist, and I served the Princess Izumi since she was seven years old, and now, the Fire Lord of the same name. I believe some of her old gowns may fit Xiaoyu well. We have kept everything her lordship has worn since she was ten. Everything she hasn't burned, that is." Iliana laughed. "We can alter them in an hour if they're not perfect. If we had a bit more notice, we could have crafted gowns from scratch, but with limited time and selection, we will have to make do with Her Majesty's inventory." Iliana said, reaching past Jiexue to take Xiaoyu's hand, then waving her sisters and cousins to follow her to the Fire Lord's room.

"Forgive me for asking, but is this even allowed?" Xiaoyu asked Iliana, slightly perturbed by the elderly woman's unnaturally firm grip on her wrist.

"Everything Her Lordship has is property of the Crown, not her own, which means the institution as a whole is free to do as they please with it," Iliana replied. "And frankly, I believe it is necessary. I do not trust Yoko or Ursa's judgement on the matter as neither of them have ever had to attend such a formal event. Now. If you all will have a seat, I shall make a few selections." Iliana walked over to a blank part of the wall and pushed in a small hidden tile, and the door to the closet opened.

"I thought the closet could only be opened by Mother's firebending!" Ursa gasped, sitting on an earthen bench that Huifan crafted for everybody.

"Heavens no! How else will we be able to dress the Fire Lord if we cannot access her clothing?" Iliana asked. She rummaged around in the vast closet for only a few seconds before emerging with her arms full of opulent gowns in all shades of crimson and decorated with obsidian, gold, and amber beading.

"Here we are! Most of these haven't been worn for at least a few decades."

"Iliana, don't you think some of these will have gone out of fashion?" Miyoko asked, lifting one dress curiously.

"Formal robes going out of fashion?" Iliana asked. "Never!" She had Xiaoyu stand and started stripping her right in front of all of her girl cousins. She drew a measuring tape and took the girl's bust, hip, and waist measurements.

"24 inches… Good. You're already pretty small," Iliana said quietly with a click of her tongue as she rang for another maid to take the measurements to a palace seamstress.

The first dress Xiaoyu tried on wrapped around her body a bit like air nomad robes but were a deeper red than she had ever seen and adorned with golden threading and golden jewelry. It had a high collar that forced Xiaoyu's chin up and her neck straight.

"I have never seen _that_ style in the Fire Nation!" Ursa scoffed disapprovingly.

"Even in magazines, it was never there!" Huifan added.

"That is because it is not a Fire Nation style. It is a southern Earth Kingdom one from some of the wealthier desert tribes. Dear Zumi wore it to Hou Ting's wedding. She almost lost it when she, Lin, and Kya had to flee Ba Sing Se after wrecking everything!" Iliana laughed.

"How did they wreck-" Miyoko began to ask curiously.

"What do you mean everything?" Jiexue asked.

Iliana held up one finger then rushed into the hall. "Tadashi, will you retrieve the Ba Sing Se City Newspaper from the 26th of May in 137AG from the archives?" Iliana asked the guard.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Tadashi replied laughing, remembering reading about the date when Masaru warned him about the Fire Lord's tendency to occasionally 'break face' when her social obligations became too much to bear.

**THE BLUE SPIRIT TEAMS UP WITH THE KEMURIKAGE TO WREAK HAVOC ON HOU-TING'S WEDDING!**

"Huh! So Mom does know how to have fun," Miyoko commented, raising a brow as she read the headline before passing the newspaper on.

"Yes, she does, and gave us all quite the headache when she was growing up. Such a stubborn girl," Iliana said nostalgically, running her hand over some claw marks and charred parts of the bedpost. "Ready to try the next one?" Iliana asked Xiaoyu.

"Sure," Xiaoyu said, removing one of the golden necklaces, setting it carefully on the mirror-less vanity before trying in vain to free herself from the bizarre wrappings.

"Allow me!" Iliana said, undoing a clasp on the back and unwrapping the gown expertly.

* * *

The morning was quiet in the Fire Lord's tent as she ate breakfast with her best friend, her future sister-in-law, and the woman's husband and Grand Master of the Air Nomads.

"Was that the first time you had ever been bloodbent?" Lin asked Izumi, breaking the terse silence that hung heavy in the air.

"Of course not," Izumi replied. "It was just the first time not in training."

"Who bloodbent you in training?"

"Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," Izumi responded gazing down at her breakfast with hurt.

"Impossible! My mother hated bloodbending. She is the one who pushed that ban through long before any of us were born," Tenzin replied incredulously.

"Well your mother may have hated bloodbending, but she didn't hate my father. In fact, she was rather fond of him, and would do almost anything he asked even if it was doing something against her own morals."

"No," Tenzin replied shaking his head. "My MOTHER wouldn't do such a thing."

"How would you know? It is not like you ever paid any attention to what she and Kya were up to. All you ever cared about was your extinct Air Nation."

"That is not true!"

"It is. Funny how when you're the only one left of your kind, you become so singularly focused."

"Your father could never make my mother bloodbend anyone, especially you!"

"My father can be really convincing with the right motivation. Azula was under the impression a fire bender could build up an immunity to it and decided to use me as the first control that one of many of her twisted experiments to create a stronger Fire Nation," Izumi replied. "All she had to do was convince my father it would benefit me and he could make it happen." Izumi paused and took a sip of tea. "If it makes you feel any better, with Katara, I was never afraid. Your mother was kind. I knew the 'Sugar Queen' never meant to hurt me and that it was all Azula's doing. The only difference between then and now is that Sunako is different. She was angry yesterday and wanted to hurt me, thinks I genuinely don't care about what's happening at the Palace."

Tenzin quieted, but was very clearly still tense.

"What did Sunako mean about Taemon being able to get Huifan to cross over to water?" Lin asked after a moment of pensive silence. "What has your foster boy done to my eldest daughter?"

"Nothing, probably. They're good boys. Sunako is just a naturally wary person. She has been onto the twins and Taemon ever since her hands were torn off and her tongue ripped out by some bastards trying to kidnap my daughter," Izumi responded curtly. "They just happened to be in the same hall that night and-"

"And you CONTINUE to ignore her suspicions?" Lin asked.

"I am not ignoring her suspicions! I just know my sons would NEVER do such a thing to blood family!"

"The blood of Sozin, Azulon, Ozai, Azula and Ursa runs through their veins. The blood of those all perfectly content with committing and/or assisting familicide-" Lin stopped, realization striking her. Izumi's hair flared blue again and she raised a hand. Lin rose a slab of earth from the ground to block the Fire Lord's attempt to strike her. "You're so blinded by your love for your sons that you can't see, These kidnappings, the children they target, the obsession with crossing over-it MUST have been them the entire time. This could be all a ruse-"

"Or the real thing!" Izumi shot back. "You're just blinded by hatred and jealousy!"

"What could I possibly be jealous of?!" Lin scoffed. "I'm a cop, not an actress in a soap opera!"

"Jealous that I have the resources and authority to access all of the information I need to solve cases like these quickly-"

"And yet you are still blinded. You're overwhelmed, so much so that you cannot see when the culprit is living freely right in front of you!" Lin yelled, grabbing her coat and setting down her breakfast to head for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Izumi yelled, running after her.

"Back to the palace to continue this investigation a little closer to home. Tetsuya was one of the level 10s with the clearance to open the doors. He must know the traits the Rogue League is looking for in those that they kidnap. They have been targeting powerful benders OF MIXED HERITAGE! Huifan and Yoko are both powerful benders with mixed heritage. Yoko may have stopped her formal training when she was ten, but she is a brilliant girl that could be of great use to them Plus, she has already been campaigning against you, so any outbursts from her would simply be waved away and you would be none the wiser! It's the perfect ruse. You know, I couldn't understand at first why Yoko was so vehemently protesting the Crown, and now I am not at all surprised why. Sunako is right; you don't deserve Yoko."

"Lin Beifong, I command you to stop right there!" Izumi yelled.

Lin laughed, in disbelief that her friend would try to use her Crown of all things to stop her. "This is not Republic City. I am not a citizen of the Fire Nation bound to follow your orders. If you're going to stop me, you'll have to do it physically, Fire Lord Izumi," Lin said with a mocking bow. She pulled the bison whistle out of her dress and blew it, calling Oogi. "Tenz, do you want to come with me or stay? On second thought, Izumi could use your help keeping everything in check. She may claim to have everything under control but she can't even manage herself or her family. It is a wonder how she has maintained the trust of her nation for this long, a nation of three hundred and forty million strong."

Izumi's hair flashed blue as she clenched her fists.

"I'm sorry, Izumi," Tenzin said, joining Lin on the bison.

Izumi turned away as they took off of the ground and flew back. Just then Genkei ran out of his tent to Izumi. "My Lord. Masaru Lee called. He said you might need consoling or - something-" Genkei's voice faded as he saw Tenzin and Lin flying away on Oogi, and Izumi standing there alone, seething.

"I need NOTHING from you but updates. Have any developments been made in the last night?" Izumi demanded, moving her hand away from him angrily and quickly making her hair grey again with a deep breath.

"One, but it wasn't good. Another child has gone missing: a five-year-old, Shigeko Ueda," Genkei responded.

Izumi drew a breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "Where was she when it happened?"

"In her bed, asleep."

"And how are her parents?"

"Bereft. The other parents of the missing have already found the link and are talking to them about marching early." Genkei reported.

"I need to speak to them personally," Izumi decided.

"Shouldn't you finish your breakfast first?"

"No. There is no time. I need to find these children, assuage the parents of the missing and get back to the palace before Lin does something she will regret to my sons."

"I do not believe the Lady Beifong will hurt her own blood nephews."

"And why not? My grandfather was perfectly content with killing my father. My blood aunt perfectly content with abusing me. I was just too naive to see that was what she was really doing. I actually thought she cared then, that she was helping me, making me stronger, but I was just her ticket out of prison so she could continue to exercise her sadistic tendencies under the guise of educating the Princess!" Izumi replied, whirling on Genkei before marching off to one of the cars.

"My Lord-"

"I may have been stupid before, but I am still your Fire Lord, so don't even think about turning on me like Sunako. As a member of the Amber League Proper, your sole purpose is to serve," Izumi reminded Genkei before he could utter another word expressing his concern for her wellbeing.

* * *

Sunako flipped through the logbooks carefully scanning for any sort of biological trace. A hair or fingerprint. Maybe a bit of skin. There was none. It had been handled by a waterbender just like the one who wrote the book in the first place. Sunako closed the cover with a stream of water and let out a sigh. Finding out who broke into the alchemy archives in the headquarters of the Amber League would have to wait. Huifan and Miyoko were in immediate danger and now Xiaoyu was going on a date with that damned intern employed by the secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Sunako needed that confirmation that Taemon and Tetsu had malintent. She always knew what they were capable of doing.

" _Kill the handler, take the girl."_ his voice echoed through her head as she walked towards the offices of her targets.

And when she couldn't be killed?

" _Silence her."_

"SUNAKO, RELEASE HIM!" Taemon barked down the hall where Sunako stood with a water whip latched around his handler Daisuke's neck.

 _ **You cannot command me, Taemon,**_ Sunako wrote on a piece of parchment, having it fly towards his face. _**You hold no rank in the REAL Amber League. Daisuke is accused of conspiracy against her lordship. Fire Lord Izumi and I alone will determine if he should be indicted or not.**_

"You cannot do this!" Taemon yelled.

_**I can and I am with the Fire Lord's blessing. As a personal servant of Izumi, not even Tetsuya outranks me in the League.** _

Taemon flew towards her, bending fire out of his feet and fists to propel himself down the hall, closing the distance between them, intent on killing not Sunako but Daisuke.

Sunako threw the shaken handler aside with her water whip and stilled Taemon with her bloodbending. He resisted at first and then gave in to her control just like

_**-Another bloodbender!** _

"Even Daisuke's testimony will not be enough to indict me. I am untouchable!" Taemon whispered before breaking free of Sunako's bloodbending to return to his office.

Sunako took one glance at Dai and ran after Taemon. He lifted a hand and threw her against the opposite wall, bloodbending her eyes closed while he rummaged through his effects for any potential evidence.

"You cannot win, Sunako. I have played my part well, so well that neither Izumi nor Masaru will trust whatever you have say about me. Your words are useless and now the Fire Lord's time is at its end. If you excuse me, I must say goodbye to my dearly beloved," Taemon's voice said. He walked away, maintaining his grip on the waterbender until he rounded the corner of the long hall, leaving her alone with Daisuke.

"Sunako, I am sorry. I have been afraid. The power he possesses is unmatched by even Izumi!" Daisuke cried.

"How so?"

"Besides blood, and fire… he bends EVERYTHING!" Daisuke gasped. Sunako ran after Taemon.

"Do you have to go?" Huifan asked, holding his hands.

"There was a fire at the school. The children are terrified. I must be there for them. As head teacher, they look up to me. Many of them were orphaned and the school their first home. Surely you understand," Taemon replied resting his chin on her head.

"Children you orphaned yourself, I'm sure!" Sunako wrote, yanking Huifan back by the blood in her veins.

"Sunako! What is wrong with you?"

"He is a mass murderer, a child trafficker, and he's going to use you to get to Izumi!"

"If I wanted to get to Izumi with malicious intent, wouldn't I have done so already? I am one of her sons after all, am I not? She loves me," Taemon replied. "Don't listen to Her, Huifan. She is just one of those brainwashed by the old to think there is only one way of doing things. She's a traditionalist, no more. Remember what I told you about the water calling you and you will do great things. I will be back as soon as I rebuild my school. My mother will understand me missing her wedding."

"I'll miss you, Taemon," Huifan said, running back to him.

"Not as much as I will miss you," Taemon replied, sliding a hand to the back of Huifan's neck, touching his index finger to the base of her spine, kissing her while sending a small surge of electricity straight to the pleasure center in her brain.

_That sick, twisted, BASTARD!_

"Goodbye, Taemon," Huifan said, waving as Taemon ran down the steps to a waiting car.

"Goodbye, Huifan!"

As soon as it pulled away, Huifan whipped around to face Sunako. "You stay away from all of us! Me, my siblings AND my cousins! I don't care what you think about Taemon. I don't care if you claim to have the Fire Lord's favor. I don't like you and if you think to come near my family again, I won't hesitate to end you!" Huifan yelled.

Just as they were about to return to the Palace, the sound of a sky bison froze them both.

"Mom! DAD!" Huifan ran to them, launching herself off the surface of the courtyard and into the saddle of the bison.

"Fa-ni! Why were you outside the palace?" Lin asked, embracing her daughter. A wave of relief overtook her body.

"Oh! Uh… just needed a little fresh air, that's all!" Huifan lied badly, remembering that her parents probably wouldn't take lightly to find out that she had begun dating in their absence.

"Getting fresh air is what the inner courtyards are for, dear, I thought we made you a better liar than that," Lin said, frowning.

Huifan laughed.

"So are you going to tell me about why you were out on the front steps?" Lin asked.

"No," Huifan laughed, guiltily.

"Then will you tell me about this crossing-over business and exactly what Taemon is telling you?" Lin asked as Oogi landed on the pavement.

"What did you tell them?" Huifan asked Miyoko.

"What she did or did not tell us is beside the point. What do you know about crossing over?" Lin asked.

"It is not a bad thing!" Huifan cried.

"Lin! Tenzin! Zumi just called and told me you left the case!" Masaru yelled running out.

"We're not going back. She's wasting her time there," Tenzin explained floating off of his bison's head.

"No, we both understand that. I only meant-"

"Why didn't you warn us?"

"Warn you about what?"

"All of your fiancee's issues. How she goes about her ' _investigations'_ with a fist full of lightning!" Lin specified. "Why does her hair turn blue? Why she is so convinced your children have nothing to do with this case, that they're innocent?"

"First of all, it is a finger, not a fist-" Masaru clarified.

"-Like that makes a difference-"

"And second of all, because they ARE innocent! What has Sunako been telling you?" Masaru asked.

"What does it matter what she has told me when your dearly beloved is off torturing innocent civilians to get them to spill their deepest secrets?"

"She does what she thinks is best for the nation and has been incredibly effective since ascending the throne. Our national crime rate is lower than your Republic City has EVER been, CHIEF Beifong!" Masaru yelled.

"And what of the morality of your methods?"

"To achieve greatness requires sacrifice!"

"And so you chose to sacrifice ethics! Lovely!," Lin said, brushing past him, taking Huifan with her. "Must be a Fire Nation thing…"

"Hey! You take that back! You're just as much fire as me!" Masaru yelled, grabbing her shoulder. She turned and knocked him to the ground.

"What other secrets is the Fire Nation harboring?" Lin demanded.

Masaru spat up a little blood. "You're going to have to be a little bit more specific about that question before I can answer."

Lin clenched a fist. "Where are Taemon and Tetsu?"

"Both busy," Miyoko answered for her father, emerging from the palace. Her long skirts swirled around her undoubtedly slender legs and her pale torso shined bright in the sunlight with the scar from Ursa's graze, more vivid than ever.

"Busy?" Lin asked, eyeing Miyoko suspiciously. Sunako had warned Izumi she and Tetsuya were now in cahoots. Sunako's eyes narrowed, but Miyoko paid her no attention.

"Tetsu is finishing up answering a call from some archivist in Yaoming while Taemon has returned to Ba Sing Se to repair his school. There was a fire," Miyoko elaborated. Lin reached for the girl's heart beat. It changed since Lin had felt it last. It had become unnaturally steady. It had been trained.

"Lin, leave Yoko alone! I'll answer your questions," Masaru demanded, standing up with mild difficulty.

"Under ordinary circumstances, that would satisfy me, but your youngest is one of the suspects in the case regarding the Rogue League," Lin replied.

"I'll gladly answer any question you have to ask me, Aunt Lin," Miyoko replied innocently.

"Sunako, will you come with me?" Lin requested.

 _ **I'd be glad to, Milady,**_ Sunako responded in written form on her piece of parchment that followed her everywhere.

* * *

The Uedas' house was only moderately remote. It was about a mile off the nearest road and up the face of a volcano. Izumi, Genkei, and a few others made the climb from the car in less than a half hour. Izumi reached the property first.

"My Lord, please-"

"What?!" Izumi snapped.

"Choose your words carefully. They just lost a daughter. They may not be in a proper state to speak with you rationally."

"I am aware. But we need to speak regardless, even if it is only so they will remain quiet about what has transpired," Izumi replied, jumping over the fallen tree, walking towards the small house quickly.

Genkei took a deep breath. He was not even a bender, and yet, Masaru had recommended him out of his class of sixty to be Izumi's primary handler when she became Fire Lord. _Mr. Lee, you told me to stop her when she wanted to do something stupid, but I am afraid that I can't, knowing what I know about her own abilities. I am powerless against our Fire Lord. Help me._

Izumi pushed aside the sliding screen that covered the entrance to the dwelling.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Izumi called. From the outside, the house on stilts appeared to only have one room, so the search for its inhabitants would be quick and easy. Izumi passed a small closet sized partitioned space that held several pots and pans and a faucet, likely connected to a silo of sorts that collected rain for the washing.

"I have come to offer my condolences for the recent disappearance of your daughter," Izumi said, rounding the last partition to enter the main space.

"You're too late, Fire Lord Izumi," a voice said. Izumi looked up and saw two men standing behind the parents of Shigeko Ueda. The parents were kneeling, trembling, with their hands curled into fists on their knees. The father wore Fire Nation reds while the mother wore Earth Kingdom greens. The two men wore all black with the flaps of their gis folded right over left, as one would dress a corpse.

"Call your men and ensure their death. Listen, and they might get another chance at life," the second man in black said.

Izumi's left hand curled into a fist.

"You are not the only special bender in the world anymore," one of the men said. Izumi pointed two fingers at the floor and sent lightning through every strand of cellulose in the straw that covered the wood with the intention of electrocuting the two black-clad men.

They both lifted two fingers at her and redirected the dark lightning back. Izumi broke the completed circuit in her surprise and took the brunt of the pain she intended for the two men, falling to her knees, wheezing.

"Did you really think that Hisoki told no one about his ability to paralyze you after he ditched you that unfortunate afternoon?" one of the men of the Rogue League asked. "Did you really think he developed that skill in the first place, alone? Did you really think Azula's exploits of the prison population would remain unknown to the rest of the world?"

"You've been a fool, Fire Lord Izumi. Your physical prowess is unquestionable, but your mind is old. You're too traditional, too naive. If you were as enlightened as you think yourself to be, you would have seen this coming. You put too much trust in your bending. Your time is coming to an end."

"If you want me dead, then why wait?"

"Because we must discredit you first. You cannot die on some tiny island where nobody can see what you really are, a detriment to your own country. No, you will have to wait for your end. But the same can't be said for these lovely people," the men in black said each stepping back onto the deck of the house. They each lifted two fingers and electrocuted the Uedas from behind, killing them ruthlessly with regular lightning. Izumi raised her hand and shot her own lightning past the two fried bodies at their murderers, but both men fell off the back of the deck, missing her strike. She leaped across the room and looked down to see only a cloud of dust as if they bent the earth to consume themselves.

"Earthbenders! Search the mountain side for two men of medium build! Both Fire Nation with Amber Eyes!" Izumi ordered from the front door. "Genkei, come here please!" Izumi added, her voice starting to shake as she slipped back inside, just out of sight of all of her entourage except Genkei.

"My Lord!" Genkei rushed up the stairs to the house on stilts to find his ruler sitting against the wall with her knees tight against her body, crying.

"I couldn't save them. The Rogue League- they were here. They took Shigeko Ueda. They killed her parents, and they've beaten me. They claim my end is near and that I must wait for death to come after they've discredited me," Izumi told him.

"If it is truly a Rogue Faction of our own League that we are dealing with, then we cannot fight them with the imperial guard, my Lord. Our time is wasted here," Genkei said with a hand on the Fire Lord's shoulder.

"You're right, as were Lin and Tenzin. Maybe the threats are a little… closer to home," Izumi sobbed, wiping her eyes with her crimson sleeves.

"I agree, but before we pack up here, we must be careful about how we go. The parents of the missing are still planning to march soon, and you abandoning them in this time of need could be irrecoverably detrimental to your standing. We must wait. Patience is key. Remember your neutral jing," Genkei said kneeling on one knee in front of Izumi, waiting for her to steady her own breathing and look up again.

"I'm sorry, for failing you, and my country."

"You haven't failed, Fire Lord Izumi. This isn't the end. Just another part of ruling. It is no different than any other skirmish you've faced in the last eight years. You will get through it," Genkei said, standing and offering a hand to his Fire Lord. Izumi wiped away the last of her tears and let Genkei help her stand. He let go of her hand quickly as no guard was to ever touch the Fire Lord except in the event of emergency, and the imperial guards could not know just how close Izumi was to the Amber League and not them. Publicly it would not go over well.

* * *

"Mom, you're overreacting," Huifan said to Lin as they made their way to the Earthen Hall for dinner after a long five hour interrogation where Lin drilled her own niece.

"I have reason to think Miyoko is involved in an imminent coup of the Fire Nation's government, don't tell me I'm overreacting!"

"And how is that you're problem? You're a citizen of the EK and of the United Republic, not the Fire Nation, so step out of it!"

"How can I just 'step out of it' when my blood brother is about to legally bind us to this spirit-foresaken, secret-laden, historically-genocidal family?" Lin asked.

"Mom!" Huifan groaned, taking her mother's hand as they reached the hall.

Lin froze, scanning every heartbeat in the room. "Where is Xiaoyu?" She asked turning to Huifan.

"She went on a date with Kohakuuuuuu!" Ikki blurted out.

Nearly the entire hall gasped as Jiexue grabbed her little sister, and covered her mouth but it was too late.

For a moment, Lin was frozen. Huifan stepped away. On numerous occasions, various aunts and uncles and even Father had commented about how Toph and Satoru were lucky the world was that Lin wasn't a firebender, for she too was extremely dangerous when enraged.

"You let her go on a date?" Lin asked Huifan.

"Not me, Uncle Saru and Aunt Su," Huifan replied.

"Way to deflect blame, Fa-ni!" Suyin scoffed kicking a leg over the bench where she sat, turning to face Lin.

"Don't pretend you're innocent, you started dating too, with their permission," Miyoko added, taking a sip of diluted cactus juice calmly.

"They're MY DAUGHTERS!" Lin yelled, bending the floor beneath Huifan and the table with her daughters and nieces away to get to her siblings.

"They're adults, it is about time you started treating them that way!" Suyin replied, bending the table with her sons and nephews away with the table where Kya, Bumi, Baatar, and Tenzin sat already eating.

"Says the woman who tied her twins' shoe laces until they were twenty!" Lin replied, bending a slab of earth at Suyin. Suyin smashed it on her wrist effortlessly.

"Lin, stop this!" Masaru yelled, sending a bolt of painless, paralyzing lightning towards Lin, making her fall to the ground with a grunt, her arms and legs immobilized, but her body still able to hold her upright on her knees, surprising everybody.

"Mom?" Xiaoyu asked as she materialized, her red gown and jewel-encrusted hair making her seem every bit a Fire Nation noble and nothing like the humble air nomad she was supposed to be.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"A dress, obviously," Xiaoyu replied, rolling her eyes.

"You are an airbender, not some Fire Nation whore, Xiaoyu!" Lin yelled in her rage. The Fire Nation girls glowered at her remark.

"Why can't I be both?" Xiaoyu asked, her amber eyes filling with tears. "Fire runs through my blood just as it runs through yours! There is no shame in a change of costume. You endorsed the disguise back when we lived on Air Temple Island however briefly. What changed?"

"You started dating."

"Mother, I am seventeen! I can do what I want! You know what, Kohaku is right about you! You are old, jaded, and uncreative-I don't need you anymore. I will meet him again, and you cannot stop me!"

"Xiaoyu-"

"Try and we elope, Mother! I am through being told what I can and cannot be!" Xiaoyu yelled at her mother. "The world is changing as we speak." She added before exiting the hall. Though Lin could not use her limbs to control her bending, that did not stop her subconscious from bending anyways in its rage. The ground splintered beneath their feet and spread throughout the room like a sheet of glass shattering.

"Kuto! Jin! Jian! Wing! Wei! The ceiling will collapse!" Huifan yelled, sliding into a bending stance as the walls began to crack almost as dramatically as the floor.

Tenzin rushed over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her as she cried, his touch ceasing the destruction of the room as their earthbending children and nephews struggled to keep the ceiling up for that amount of time against Lin's powerful bending.

"Come on, children, off to bed," Kya said, herding Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan from the Earthen Hall.

"But Aunt Kya, we haven't even finished eating," Meelo whined.

"I'm sure we can get something edible delivered. It is time to go to bed _now_ ," Kya replied sternly, picking up Rohan and taking Meelo's hand.

* * *

_Old, jaded, and uncreative… old, jaded, and uncreative… old, jaded, and uncreative… Wasn't that every mother's job to be to keep their children from getting themselves killed before they were ready to move on from the mortal world?_ Sunako thought to herself as she bent the water around Miyoko's head while the girl slept. _And what was that interrogation, How could neither Lin nor Huifan, the two greatest truth-seers in the world, not be able to detect any waver in Miyoko's heartbeat? Even I could feel it in her blood. The volume of the fluid being moved through her body varied so dramatically in speed throughout her questioning. They must have sensed the vibrations… unless… she's crossed over into earth and has been taught how to cancel those vibrations with seismic sense!_

Sunako almost dropped the water on Miyoko's bed sheets, but caught it before it hit and replaced it in her water skein.

Fortunately, the girl didn't wake, only moaned softly and rolled over in her sleep. Sunako checked her pulse. Still sleeping. The waterbender let out a sigh of relief and retreated to her study to reflect on the day's proceedings.


	18. Darkness Rising

**Chapter 18: Darkness Rising**

* * *

"Do you really think it wise to stalk our own daughter?" Tenzin asked Lin that night.

"The Rogue League has already targeted Huifan and Miyoko. You can see the change in their eyes. And now I fear they now also have Xiaoyu on their side. You heard her responses. She used to be perfectly content with being an airbender, being an Air Nomad. She never asked for anything superficial. She was quiet, like Jinkun—she never cried, never yelled or complained. She was a good kid. Whatever Kohaku told her tonight, it changed her, unbelievably quickly. Isn't that at least a little unsettling to you?"

"It is, but I still think there could be some truth to what Suyin and Xiaoyu are saying. They ARE legal adults in all four nations. Maybe we should give them a little more freedom to make what they will of the world. This idealism they have will go away eventually. It's probably just temporary."

"I don't know, Tenz. Words like what they're preaching are what sends millions of young men to their deaths every couple of centuries. I don't like it one bit."

"This is true, but this time it is women speaking. Aren't you the one who claims women are smarter than to get themselves caught up in the frivolous battles of men?"

"Yes, but at the same time, when we are in love we can act just as foolishly as our inferiors. Remember that," Lin said, wrapping her arms around Tenzin's neck, drawing him in for a kiss.

* * *

Lin dyed her hair dark the next morning. She procured makeup to cover up her identifying facial scars and then dressed in a typical, middle-class Fire Nation disguise. Tenzin wore a wig and a merchant-class suit and they disappeared from the castle through the servant's wing of the palace, Lin covering their exit with her earthbending.

"What's wrong now?" Tenzin asked with a soothing hand on his wife's shoulder, noting her deepening scowl as they walked down the crowded street.

"I simply want to gag. The way her heart flutters every time he speaks is _absolutely_ disgusting," Lin grimaced. "You're so lucky you can't feel every vibration every person creates in the earth just by existing."

Tenzin took a deep breath and continued following, keeping an eye out for Lin's movements. He was completely oblivious when it came to her stalking techniques; that had always been Lin's forte. He let his wife be in charge of the tracking while he took care of their cover, pretending to be interested in the vendors' various wares for sale on the street.

"They're leaving the market," Lin said suddenly.

"What?" Tenzin asked. His wife took his wrist and lead him down an alleyway.

"Can you get us onto the roof quietly?" Lin asked.

Tenzin picked her up bridal style and jumped, silently, with a swirl of air around them. They both ran lightly across the rooftops, Lin taking extra care to cancel out her vibrations.

"This way! Stay low!" Lin called. They came to the edge of the neighborhood.

"Where are they going?" Tenzin asked as they moved silently through dense foliage.

"I don't know," Lin replied. She put out a hand, stopping Tenzin. What were Xiaoyu and Kohaku looking at, exactly?

"It is a boiling lake," Kohaku informed Xiaoyu. "Bet you don't have these in Republic City."

"No, we certainly don't," Xiaoyu replied, her eyes never leaving the water in front of her. "Are boiling lakes common in the Fire Nation?"

"With so many active volcanoes, and places where the crust of the earth is so thin, significantly," Kohaku responded.

"I am surprised. I thought the only boiling lake was the one where that infamous prison was located. What was it called, the Boiling Rock?"

Kohaku laughed. "As much as the Fire Nation likes to boast of its nearly endless amount of resources, its multitude of its boiling lakes are not included among those commodities that are worth boasting about."

"Naturally." Xiaoyu replied.

"Would you like to touch the water?" Kohaku asked after a few moments.

The airbender shrunk back. "I can't! It will burn me won't it?"

"I don't think it will."

"And what makes you say that?"

"You're different, Xiaoyu."

"You have an affinity for heat. You don't realize it, but I can see. You spice your food much more than most air benders, and you didn't feel anything in the library that day with your little sister-"

"Wait- you were actually- bending? Jinora wasn't imagining anything?"

"No."

"How is that even possible?"

"Heat in its rawest form is just energy, correct?"

"Yes," Xiaoyu said, becoming apprehensive.

"And what is energy?"

"I don't know… heat?"

"A naturally reflexive response for someone who has not been educated on the microhappenings of the world," Kohaku noted. "Heat is released upon impact of most particles. Increase the rate of collision of those particles, and you increase the amount of energy released, and elevate the heat produced in the surrounding area. Slow the particles of air, reduce the number of collisions around you and you reduce the heat. You were cooling yourself because you knew what was happening. Your body automatically returned your surroundings to the former temperature to maintain a comfortable homeostasis. Jinora is not so advanced. Her body didn't know what was happening and did not make the appropriate subconscious reaction. She does not deserve the tattoos she bears regardless of her ability to do spiritual projection." Kohaku stated, crossing his arms in contempt.

Tenzin's eyes narrowed in offense.

"Don't-" Lin hissed, holding him back.

"I assure you, you won't burn if you touched the water. You will subconsciously bend air into the water around you, interfering with the collision of the water molecules that are being forced into each other by the boiling magma below. You will be safe," Kohaku whispered in her ear as he held her arms from behind and dipped both of her hands into the boiling lake.

"Woah!" She gasped. He let go and knelt beside her.

"We're not really so different, fire and air," Kohaku commented.

"If that is so, why did that one fire lord ever start that war?"

"Because he was ignorant. He grew blindly accepting what his elders told him. He truly believed the ways of the Fire Nation were superior. He was a fool for not seeing that we are in fact, all the same. He didn't question society's standard conventions. He didn't open his eyes to other possibilities," Kohaku said leaning closer. "Have you ever thought about bending lightning?" Kohaku asked.

"I'm not a firebender," Xiaoyu replied.

"But isn't fire just energy? And isn't energy-"

"Released when things collide-"

"Try it, Xiaoyi. Bend the air into itself!" Kohaku said, putting his hands together in the shape of a cup and bent a flame.

Xiaoyu put her hands together in the same position but nothing happened.

"It's no use!" She sighed with frustration.

"No! You're doing it!" Look!" Kohaku lowered a stick in between her hands. Xiaoyu bombarded it with air and the tip began to smoke, and then caught flame. He dropped the stick to avoid getting burned.

Xiaoyu stepped back, stunned. "I did it!"

"Yes! You've crossed over!"

"How is that even possible! I thought only the Avatar could bend more than one element!"

"You only thought that because it is something your parents have told you," Kohaku sneered."You must break free, Xiaoyi if you are ever to reach your full potential. There is so much that you can discover and accomplish if you stopped accepting what you have been told and started questioning everything."Xiaoyu smiled. "Come now," he said, looking at the sun. "It is nearly noon, you must be getting hungry,"

"And who are you to presume such a thing?" She asked with a smirk.

He smiled at her. "Questioning everything, I see?"

She giggled gleefully as they returned to the village marketplace.

"I've had enough!" Lin decided as they saw Xiaoyu and Kohaku both ordering from a meat cart.

"XIAOYU HAN YESHE!" Lin yelled parting the crowd with her earthbending. Xiaoyu turned, mortified with a forbidden pork kebab in her hand. "How dare you defy tradition?"

"What do we gain from following? Total annihilation? The world is changing, and so should we!" Xiaoyu yelled back.

"Do you know this woman?" Kohaku asked, stepping in front of Xiaoyu.

_He really doesn't recognize me wearing Fire Nation clothes with makeup covering my scars? Huh! Interesting. I could use that to my advantage._

"Unfortunately, yes. She is my mother," Xiaoyu replied brusquely. .

"Mother or not, she is not needed!" Kohaku decided, generating lightning. Lin balled her fist and readied a concealed cable. "Foolish metalbenders!" he yelled recognizing the motion and anticipating the attack. He slid to the side and grabbed hold of her cable. "I would think you would have learned by now that metal only CONDUCTS lightning!"

Tenzin and Xiaoyu all saw it the instant before it happened. Lightning surged through Lin. She screamed as the cable fell limp followed by her body.

"LIN!" Tenzin dropped to his knees in horror as his wife's body convulsed from the electrocution. Kohaku laughed and recharged to attack the fallen former police chief again.

"Stop it! STOP IT, YOU'RE INSANE!" Xiaoyu screamed, pulling his arm down.

"Why should I? You said so yourself the the world is changing and so should we!" Kohaku declared, charging up more lightning to shoot at Lin and Tenzin. "Ending her and all others who resist this change will only get us one step closer to freeing every man, woman, and child from the oppressive forces that seek to stifle our progress. Why not start with freeing you?"

"You don't need to do this!" Xiaoyu cried, jumping in between Kohaku and her parents with tears streaming down her face.

"If you could bend fire, you could stop me!" he said darkly. "I've made my decision and I know my place in society!"

"NO!" Xiaoyu stood her ground and took the lightning, ready to die for her parents, but the electricity didn't hurt. It didn't burn. Somehow her subconscious mind knew how to deal with the energy. It moved the billions of particles of air that came rushing towards her at incomprehensible speeds, colliding and releasing the energy that condensed into lightning. Xiaoyu opened her eyes and saw blue and white lines dancing across her vision silently. She redirected the lightning down her arms through her belly and to her other hand, careful to avoid her heart and complete destruction. She looked around at the people in the marketplace staring at her, open-mouthed and frightened. Then she saw Kohaku standing a few feet away, grinning madly. She pointed two fingers of her left hand to the sky and two fingers of her right hand to the ground and expelled the lightning from her body in a magnificent display of light. She dropped by her mother's side and took her hand and reached inside, searching for the excess energy, and shot that as well, towards the sky.

Lin's body stopped convulsing, and her breathing settled into a more rhythmic pattern again. "Xiaoyu," she whimpered before falling completely still.

"I'm so sorry!" Xiaoyu cried. "I should have listened to you-I didn't realize he would-"

"That was incredible!" Kohaku yelled running over. "A master airbender lightningbending in one shot! It usually takes YEARS of training and conditioning to get any bender to even be willing to attempt to cross-over into another element! They're right! You are a powerful one! Now all we need to do is separate you and get you to the academy!"

"You're insane if you think I'll ever go anywhere with you! I hate you and NEVER want to see your face again!" Xiaoyu yelled with tears streaming down her eyes as she looked down at her mother's damaged form.

"You'll change your mind," Kohaku replied with a sly grin.

"Don't you think you've done enough damage to our family?" Xiaoyu sobbed, over her mother's completely stilled body..

"How do you know this damage was not my intention to open your eyes, Xiaoyu? We will meet again, in time." With a wicked grin and an explosion created by a concealed combustionbender, Kohaku vanished from the marketplace.

"She is breathing, and her heart is still beating, but she does not respond now to any stimuli. It's like—she's paralyzed…" a passerby in Water Tribe clothing said to Tenzin, her face wrought with worry. Tenzin pulled out his bison whistle and through his sobs, called Oogi.

"Mom, I'm sorry!" Xiaoyu cried.

* * *

"Master Tenzin!" Hiryur called, running out to receive the bison. "What happened?"

"Kohaku shot Lin full of lightning- but there weren't any visible burns! I have never seen anything like it!"

"And you sure he used lightning?" Hiryur asked.

Tenzin nodded.

"Summon the Master Lee, and his son, Tetsuya! Quickly!" Hiryur ordered some nearby sentries.

"Can they fix her?" Xiaoyu asked, desperately.

"Hopefully, sweet air child," Hiryur replied, leading Xiaoyu and Tenzin carrying Lin to the infirmary as Oogi flew on his own back to the Royal Stables.

* * *

"You're sure it was lightning?" Masaru asked, placing a hand over Lin's head and heart as she lay unmoving after a full check of vitals by all of the Palace Healers, Kya, and Sunako.

"I swear it," Tenzin said. "The energy, the heat-it couldn't have been anything else."

Xiaoyu stood by the wall in Huifan's arms, crying. If it hadn't been for her, their mother wouldn't be so close to death...

"Father, Dai said it was urgent- Is Aunt Lin-" Tetsuya commented, entering with his handler in tow.

"The healers said she is in critical condition. Where have you been?"

"I was out on a call. I came as quickly as I could from the southern islands. I am sorry, Father. I cannot fly as quickly as Mother." Tetsuya answered completely, bowing his head in apology.

"Very well. You're here now," Masaru sighed, stepping aside. "I'll let you diagnose her. Dark lightning always was one of your specialties."

"As was it yours," Tetsuya replied, taking his father's place with one hand on Lin's head and one on her heart.

"But I never learned to heal with my lightning," Masaru replied.

"It never is too late to learn, Father," Tetsuya replied, bending electrical impulses throughout Lin's body.

Masaru placed a hand on his sister's arm and leg and felt his son working the energy through his sister's body.

"What did Kohaku do to her?" Masaru asked. He had never seen a case like this before-what was this young man training, exactly?

"He tried to kill her, but fortunately could not administer the full dose of lightning," Tetsuya replied, his expression difficult to read, but somewhere between disappointment and grief. "The fabric lining the former police chief wears between her armor and skin saved her from complete system failure." Tetsuya added as he moved one hand down from her head to her chest and the other hand that was on her chest down her leg.

"Spirits!" Masaru cursed.

"Please tell me you can save her!" Tenzin begged his future nephew.

"I can try, but I am no master," Tetsuya replied, carefully removing Lin's clothing. He placed both hands on her bare torso and sent a single shock through her body to try to jump-start it again. Limbs thrashed momentarily before falling still again. Tetsuya sighed in defeat and checked her pulse then placed both hands on either sides of the head and mapped the brain.

"She's receptive. That is a good sign," Tetsuya explained.

"What does that mean?" Xiaoyu asked.

"She can hear and feel," Kya answered.

"But she has been immobilized. I am afraid a majority of her motor neurons have been fried at the synapses, inhibiting the release of ions into the space between," Tetsuya announced.

"What do you mean fried? Does this mean she'll never walk again?" Tenzin asked. Xiaoyu shrieked a little, Huifan's grip on her tightening in response.

"I don't know. I have never come across anyone who has been attacked like this," Tetsuya replied. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"I came as fast as I could fly. Where is she?" Izumi asked, barging in with Miyoko close behind.

Tetsuya stood immediately and bowed. "Motor neuron disintegration. Synapses closed permanently-" Tetsu reported like a member of the Amber League would to his superior.

Xiaoyu whimpered a little at the sound of "permanent."

"We'll see what can be done," Izumi replied sternly, passing her son without even a glance as she turned her attention to her future sister-in-law laying comatose on the bed.

The Fire Lord placed a lanky hand on Lin's head and the other on her heart and closed her eyes, mapping the woman's entire system with one bolt of energy.

"Everyone leave," She ordered.

"What?" Tenzin whimpered looking up from Lin's left hand which he held to his hand.

"If you want her to wake again, you HAVE TO LEAVE," Izumi replied.

Xiaoyu looked back nervously and reluctantly exited the room.

"Saru, Help me," Izumi whispered, holding him back.

Once the room was cleared, Izumi and Masaru both put a hand on one of Lin's shoulders and her upper leg. "Saru, come with me," Izumi said taking a deep breath. Her hair turned blue and his blazed read as they both let out their dragons.

"We'll be back. Protect our bodies, and Lin's, please," Izumi said to her hurt and fear and Masaru's anger which were the biggest of the dozen flaming beasts that danced around the infirmary.

They turned back towards each other, not letting go of Lin and crossed into the spirit world, to Wan Shi Tong's Library.

"Is this your first time?" Izumi asked, leading the way across some high rock formations that loomed over a foggy grove.

"Obviously," he replied nervously. "Why do I need to come in the first place?"

"Because Lin's synapses have been fried by lightning and such cells are far too temperamental to be restored by conventional methods."

"And you think someone here will know how to help us?"

"Yes. Dark lightning is not as new as previously believed. You remember that night in the bathroom when I got you to release your inner dragons?"

"Yes and I remember my anger attacking your fears, why?"

"Well we've apparently always had that innate ability. We just haven't needed it at least two myrietes."

"Why has it chosen now to resurface? To fuck up our already fucked up family?" Masaru asked following Izumi Wan Shi Tong's Library which appeared hanging upside down out of a purple sky, overgrown with roots of some tree likely spanning the spirit and material world.

"I don't know, so don't ask me," Izumi replied, holding out her hand to her fiance.

"How do we get up there without our bending to fly?"

"Just close your eyes," Izumi ordered, projecting both of their spirits into the main atrium of the library.

"You've brought a friend," the serpentine owl droned, unamused as he confronted Izumi.

"He is Masaru Lee, son of Toph Beifong and Satoru-"

"You think he who knows ten thousand things needs to be reminded of this mortal's lineage? How could I forget? His mother dented the main spire of my great library with her unbelievably strong bending."

"I'm sorry, about that," Masaru mumbled, rustling his hair.

"Let me guess, you wish to peruse my collection?"

"I wish to find out a way to save my sister who's been shot full of some malevolent lightning that neither my lady nor I know how to remedy," Masaru replied.

"As I recall, your lady is called a Lord now."

"Yes, forgive me," Masaru apologized, his eye twitching with impatience.

"How sweet! He is equally as annoyingly miserable and apologetic as you were when you first started coming," Wan Shi Tong commented to Izumi.

"Just think of something to share with him. I'll be in the Fire Section that hasn't been burned by that idiot Zhao that now wanders the expansive fog of lost souls," Izumi said impatiently, rushing up some stairs and down a corridor with her favorite little knowledge seeker bounding after her.

Masaru pulled out a small book from his pocket. "Please accept this offering,"

"What is it?"

"Every instance that dark lightning has been used since Hisoki Ibonara struck Izumi on their wedding night. I've had the Amber League report back every bender capable of executing the technique and their uses of it in my attempt to learn, but still have been unable to heal anybody."

"Your thirst for knowledge is disturbing, Masaru Lee," Wan Shi Tong replied, taking the book with one fell swoop of his wing.

"How is it any different than Zumi's?" Masaru asked challengingly.

"It isn't." the great spirit replied.

"Go, enjoy the library, but if you pervert any of the knowledge you find-"

"I won't. Thank you, great spirit!" Masaru said bowing rushing to find his fiancee in the expansive place.

He found Izumi nestled in a pile of books with a pair of fox-like spirits helping her.

"Read this one, and this and this one," Izumi said, handing Masaru three specific texts already bookmarked while not taking her eyes off of a fourth as the knowledge seekers collected more tomes for her to skim quickly for relevant information. "We have no time to lose."

* * *

Tetsuya stood with his back against the door frame, his eyes down cast and that insufferable lock of hair hanging just to the left of his long pointed nose. Miyoko waited a few feet away with a scowl marring her otherwise flawless heart shaped face. Tadashi, Hiryur and Sunako stood in a triangle in the hall. Tadashi and Hiryur each staring down a corridor and Sunako staring at the door. Kya and Huifan stood with each with a hand on one of Xiaoyu's shoulders while Xiaoyu ate herself alive with self-blame in Tenzin's arms.

"I should have never trusted him!" the airbender sobbed as her father stroked her head. "If I hadn't been so naive and stupid, mother would still be with us."

"She's not dead so why are you crying?" Tetsuya asked, annoyed.

"She could be dying! You saw her just laying there! Unresponsive!"

"I diagnosed her! She's unresponsive, yes, but still receptive! She's in there! We just need to get her out!" Tetsuya yelled back.

 _ **Tetsu, leave her alone**_! Sunako warned, shoving her parchment in his face. He slapped it aside and reached for the door handle. "I'm going to see if Mother and Father need help." He announced impatiently. When he touched the door handle, he winced from the heat. What was happening? He opened it quickly and slipped inside, closing the door behind. When he looked up he saw his parents each in mirrored positions with one arm on his elder earthbending aunt's shoulder and the other on her upper leg. Both with their heads hung and their eyes closed and flames in place of their hair.

Tetsuya looked at the source of the glow that filled the room. Nine small dragons seemingly made entirely of flames, varying in size between the length of a finger and an arm lounged on the bed, not burning anything and barely casting a glow.

Still the infirmary felt warmer than it normally would. Tetsuya turned and saw three dragons, two blue and one red, composed of raw energy, glaring at them.

"I'm here to help," he said to the dragons. They snarled.

One reached out a whisker and touched Tetsuya's forehead, burning into his mind a warning.

_The masters may love you, but we see truth._

Tetsuya shoved the whisker away with a flaming whip. He heard a blaze and whipped around to see his mother's hair lighten from a dull blue to a bright hot blue flame. His father's glowed from red to orange and the dragons approached him. He drew two fire whips of a green flame in case they decided to attack. He was close to his parents. Close enough to take action.

He made his decision and jumped, twisting the green flaming whips around him, slicing through everything in his path as the dragons closed in on him with their flames.

* * *

Both Masaru and Izumi fell, each clutching a shoulder as if that'd been struck down by something.

The knowledge seekers looked up from the pile of tomes they'd collected.

"Our bodies are under attack!" Izumi announced.

"How are we able to feel it from the spirit world? I thought just our spirits traveled here," Masaru said dropping his book.

"Our inner flame always exists within us even if we send the dragons away!" Izumi explained running over to grab his hand. She bent down to one of the knowledge seekers, her favorite and the one who helped her since she first came.

"Help us get back!" She begged.

The knowledge seeker touched its nose to her head and they went.

* * *

They both returned with a gasp, feeling blood running down their backs. Burns on their skin after something had cut through the fabric of their clothes. They checked Lin. She was unharmed. Unchanged.

Then the dragons. They were weary but okay. Then the room. There were dents in the walls, a shattered window, a downed chandelier and snapped candles. Earthen wedges bent out of the floor.

"What happened here?!" Izumi demanded shrilly, her eyes practically burning with fury when she saw the state of the infirmary.

The dragon touched her. _An earthbender boasting green flames came._

"What was his name?!"

_Tetsuya Lee…. son of Masaru and Izumi….._

"No!" Izumi removed her hands from Lin's skin, not wanting to burn her friend in her rage. "NO! I don't believe you!"

"Izumi! It's no use arguing with yourself!" Masaru snapped. "Just focus on Lin. I think I know how to help her."

They used their bending to reach into the tiniest microfilaments of each motor neuron and pulled the melted receptors back into their proper shape and orientation on the surface of the cell.

"Ready to try her?" Izumi asked, letting go.

Masaru nodded and placed one hand on her sternum and one on her stomach and jolted her entire system with one quick pulse.

They both turned their hair dark again and waited. They heard her groan. "Saru? Zumi?" Lin whispered. She coughed. "You came!" She exclaimed weakly.

"You were right. Going to the outer isles was a waste of time. I hope it's not too late to be here for family," Izumi said to Lin.

"What about your nation?"

"How can I help anyone else while I am in such a state of disarray?" Izumi asked. "I'm glad you're okay," she squeezed Lin's arm. "Your daughter and husband will want to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Never more grateful for light," Lin replied, weakly turning her head towards a window.

"Shall we bring them in?" Izumi asked Masaru. He lifted the sheet over Lin's naked body led Izumi to the door.

"Xiaoyu, Tenz, she's awake but weak," Izumi announced. Xiaoyu pushes past and ran in.

"Mama, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" She cried dropping on her mother's body, lightly.

"It's not your fault that evil exists in the world, my darling girl," Lin said weakly placing a hand on the back of her youngest daughter's head.

"What happened in here?" Tadashi gasped upon seeing the structural damage to the interior of the infirmary where a massive fight clearly took place. Scorch marks, earthen wedges, craters, shattered glass and a destroyed chandelier no less.

"And why didn't I feel it?" Huifan asked, touching one of the earthen wedges. "It's like my seismic sense just doesn't work in the Fire Nation."

 _ **Tsuya came in,**_ Sunako said darkly.

"You're both bleeding. Why are you both bleeding?" Kya asked Izumi and Masaru.

"Whoever attacked us was clearly an earthbender. It couldn't been boys been fire since birth!" Izumi replied firmly as Sunako began to strip Izumi with her water tentacles to get easier access to her wounds.

"Whatever attacked you—" Tenzin stuttered. "How could you not know what attacked you? Weren't you in the room the entire time?"

"We took a trip— to try to find out how to fix Lin," Izumi replied trying to be vague.

"To the spirit world? But how is that even possible?"

"Why are you surprised? My uncle got in! Why would I be able to?" Izumi asked, offended, trying to stand. Sunako yanked her back to seating and bent a band of ice over the Fire Lord's knees so she couldn't escape her healing session while Kya worked on Masaru.

"So an earthbender attacked you while you were in the spirit world?" Tadashi asked.

"How do you know it wasn't Lin?" Miyoko asked angrily.

"Yoko!" Masaru scolded warningly.

"Lin is an incredibly accomplished earthbender but I don't think even she could so precisely with only her subconscious," Izumi said.

"But you can't confirm or deny it since you weren't here. You could only look at the evidence. She was the only earthbender in here when it happened," Miyoko replied.

"You're right, we weren't," Izumi sighed, turning to Masaru's. _But our inner fires were._

"Mother, are they gone?" Tetsuya asked, running out of the supply cupboard of the infirmary with similar burns and cuts to what both Masaru and Izumi had.

"Tsuya!" Izumi rushed over to him, breaking the ice that Sunako used to attempt to bind her.

"Mother!" They embraced.

"Why did you come in here when I explicitly told you to stay away?!" Izumi demanded angrily, holding him by his ears, but not hurting him in any way.

"I was worried! I wanted to help! Forgive me, Mother!"

"What did you see?" Izumi asked.

"Nothing but a slab of earth as soon as I closed the door behind me," he replied, trembling.

"I'm just glad you're okay!" Izumi exclaimed.

As soon as Izumi let go of Tetsuya, a water tentacle ensnared the man's neck and lifted him in the air.

"SUNAKO!"

 _ **He did it**_! Sunako sneered.

"Sunako drop him!" Izumi yelled, shooting lightning in the handler's direction without hesitation. Sunako dove off of the infirmary bed and struck the Fire Lord. Yoko, Masaru, and Tetsuya all opened fire on the handicapped waterbender but Sunako halted their advance with bloodbending. "You dare—,"

 _ **As I have told you before, I will do whatever it takes to protect you and your family even if that means a sacrifice is necessary!**_ Sunako replied, forcing Masaru, Miyoko and Tetsuya all to kneel as Tadashi, Hiryur, Tenzin, Huifan, Kya, and Xiaoyu watched on with horror.

"Sunako, you are off my guard. You will find Princess Ursa and not leave her side until you can earn your former place again," Izumi ordered.

Sunako's eyes narrowed and she released her bloodbending hold on Masaru, Miyoko and Tetsuya and stormed out of the room.

"She's only trying to help, Zumi," Lin asked.

"I know," Izumi replied looking down. She could feel her temperature raising. "We should let Lin rest." She said to everyone.

Neither Xiaoyu nor Tenzin wanted to go.

"I'll be fine," Lin said squeezing Xiaoyu's hand.

"I'll watch her, Dad," Huifan offered.

* * *

A an hour later, a messenger came to the Earthen Hall to find Tenzin and Xiaoyu who were waiting with their extended family for news.

"Master Tenzin, Xiaoyu, the Fire Lord requires your attendance in the throne room," the messenger informed them.

"Why?" Xiaoyu asked.

"It is not my place to question my Lord, milady," the messenger responded.

"Let's go, Xiaoyi. Best not to keep her Royal Lordship waiting," Tenzin sighed with resignation.

When they arrived, they found The Fire Lord waiting, her wounds healed and herself redressed, flanked by Tadashi and Hiryur both in full armor.

"I must inform you that we must conscript Xiaoyu for a reconnaissance mission," Izumi said to Tenzin.

"You cannot make her!" Tenzin protested.

"I can and I will," Izumi responded sternly. "She is the only one close to him. The only one he will trust. According to my sources, she is the only one with his trust. He has promised once that they will meet again. We can use that to our advantage."

"Xiaoyu is MY DAUGHTER!"

"But she is on my soil!"

"I won't let you EXPLOIT HER!"

"I don't have a choice! Do you want others to suffer the same fate as your dear wife?"

"We can send another!"

"Arguing with me on my own soil, in my own home is futile, Tenzin. You may be family, but you have no power here—"

Tenzin drew a tense breath. "Izumi— this isn't you—"

"How would you know? You haven't really spoken to me in decades. People change!"

"Apparently not always for the better!"

"Xiaoyu," Izumi turned to her niece menacingly.

"Dad, let me!" Xiaoyu pleaded her father. "Please—"

"—my love, you cannot possibly be thinking—"

"I—" Xiaoyu glanced at Izumi whilst trembling with fear and apprehension. "I want to make things right— for Mom. I'll be okay!"

Tenzin has tears in his eyes.

"If anything happens to her," he threatened.

"It won't," Izumi responded, her golden-tangerine eyes boring into Tenzin's grey ones. The airbender crossed his arms, resigned. As an Air Nomad, he could not retaliate against the Fire Lord no matter how much he wanted to. Izumi, of course, knew that and had used it to her advantage. The Fire Lord turned to the young airbender, who stood petrified by her anxiety.

"Aunt Zumi, I'm scared."

"I know, sweet girl, but don't worry. You won't get hurt any more today. You will be safe. This I promise. You won't ever be alone on your journey. You WILL come back home in one complete piece," Izumi said. She lifted a hand to Xiaoyu's shoulder and placed the other over her heart. "Just don't forget to breathe. Find comfort in the air around you. Let it envelop you, Xiaoyi. Let it calm you."

Xiaoyu trembled.

"Remember your lessons, and don't try to fight me," Izumi said sternly, bending the electrical impulses in the seventeen year old airbender's body.

Tenzin watched his daughter transform. Xiaoyu took a deep breath and her face relaxed, her shoulders fell back and her finger's uncurled. She opened her eyes. The innocently terrified spark that once shone in her eyes had vanished as if all of the light had been horn out from facial muscles relaxed and her breathing slowed. She stopped trembling completely appearing as calm as Huifan was when reading a fashion magazine.

Izumi let go of the seventeen-year-old and examined her handiwork.

"What are you thinking?" she asked the girl.

"Nothing," Xiaoyu replied.

"Do you care about your mother?"

"I do!"

"Then you will find Kohaku, You will go on another date with him. You will apologize for intervening with his attempted murder. You will remember everything he does and tells you. Offer to infiltrate the palace. Make him believe you love him and then return to me. Do you understand, Xiaoyi?" Izumi asked.

She nodded solemnly.

"Don't be afraid. Smile. This is a good day. You can make a difference and save so many from what your mother had to experience this morning. Now go. Tadashi and Hiryur will escort you," Izumi ordered.

Xiaoyu bowed and turned.

"What did you do to my daughter?" Tenzin asked, mortified by Xiaoyu's transformation.

"I suppressed the fear center in her brain," Izumi replied simply, walking away from Tenzin back towards her private offices.

"You did what?!" Tenzin yelped, chasing after her.

"She'll be fine! Just think of it this way. I've simply made her more like Huifan. Your eldest daughter is fearless in the face of danger. She is perfectly content fighting for what is right. She is willing to do anything—"

"You've robbed her of her personality. You've stripped my daughter of the essence that makes her _her_!"

"It's only temporary! Stop complaining or i'll have to have you physically removed from this hall! Go back to the others!" Izumi yelled before disappearing into her offices with the slam of a door.

Izumi leaned against her door with a sigh, took off her crown and removed the ring that held her bun in place.

"Mother, she'll be okay," Miyoko said, sitting in the chair on the guest side of Izumi's desk.

"And you won't ever be interrogated again because of someone's baseless suspicions," Izumi replied. "I can't believe Lin would go after you. I understand the boys, but you're just a baby. It's so unfair!"

"Life isn't fair, but we make do," Miyoko replied calmly.

"That couldn't be more true," Izumi replied, swiftly returning to her chair to review the reports from the kidnapping investigation that Genkei now ran solo.


	19. Unraveling at the Seams

**Chapter 19: Unraveling at the Seams**

* * *

It was sundown when Xiaoyu returned to the palace with Tadashi and Hiryur guarding her.

"She did exceptionally well!" Tadashi reported, bringing Xiaoyu directly before the Fire Lord in the throne room.

Tenzin stood by one of the pillars where he had been the entire time, pacing anxiously, waiting for his daughter's. Izumi day atop her throne with Miyoko standing beside her behind the wall of blue flames that the Fire Lord kept ablaze.

"We will start off with the basics. What does he look like?"

"Tall, lean, fair skinned, dark hair, with red highlights."

"His eye color?"

"Amber."

"Like yours?"

"Lighter," Xiaoyu replied, her stoic expression fading, her open hands resting on her knees curling into a fist over her knee as she grew increasingly tense.

As the interrogation continued, more of her body began to shake until her entire being was trembling with fear again as she gave all of the information she could remember from the third date.

"You've done exceptionally well, dear niece," Izumi said standing, satisfied with her niece's report.

"Thank you, Aunt Zumi," Xiaoyu replied standing as well, keeping her head low. Izumi took step forward, through the flames and Xiaoyu took a full step back, stumbling, scaring herself with the instability. Izumi examined her disposition critically.

"Forgive me, Aunt Zumi!" Xiaoyu whimpered, her voice cracking. "May I go see my mother now?"

"Yes," Izumi replied. "You may."

Tenzin glared at the Fire Lord then followed his daughter as she fled the hall for the Infirmary.

* * *

"Xiaoyi! You're back!" Jiexue exclaimed, sitting on the bed with Huifan, Hungjian, and Jinora surrounding Lin.

"Uh oh!" Huifan said practically leaping to clear the way so Xiaoyu could dive into her mother, tears pouring down her pale face.

"What happened?" Lin asked wrapping her arms around her daughter as she nestled into her mother's body.

"Mama, I was so scared!" Xiaoyu squeaked.

"Izumi sent her back to Kohaku to gather information!" Tenzin announced.

"What?" Hungjian exclaimed.

"The gall of that woman!" Jiexue yelled.

"Why didn't you run?" Lin asked Xiaoyu.

"Because Aunt Zumi changed me," Xiaoyu replied. "At first, I didn't feel I needed to flee. I wasn't afraid in the beginning. But that faded. Mama, I wanted to scream. Knowing what he could do, what he DID do to you—his presence alone terrified me."

"And you still stayed?" Lin asked in disbelief. "You know you could always come back to me."

"But Aunt Zumi— if I didn't return with a complete report—I don't know what she would do to me if I returned with nothing!" Xiaoyu replied, quickly hiding her face in her mother's torso as if expecting some immediate punishment from somewhere for speaking truly. "I needed enough information for a complete report."

Lin could not be more disturbed. "You are her niece, not a servant in her Amber League. She has no right to threaten you."

"But Ma, it is her country. She can do anything," Xiaoyu replied.

Jiexue stood. "I call bullshit. In Grandfather Aang's memorial he wrote about a time soon after the war when Fire Lord Zuko and Earth King Kuei almost ended up back at war. Zuko made Grandfather promise to end him if he 'became bad' as Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin were."

"Izumi made no such demands of her friends to keep her in check."

"Well maybe she should have. Would have spared the rest of us a lot of headaches," Jiexue said, racing out of the infirmary and towards the throne room. With the push of her hands she blew the doors open, boldly staring down the occupants inside.

"We'll finish later," Izumi said, dismissing Tadashi and Hiryur. They both bowed and swept out of the throne room through a side door.

"HOW DARE YOU USE DARK LIGHTNING ON MY LITTLE SISTER! hOW DARE YOU INVADE HER BODY WITH SUCH A PERVERTED FORM OF BENDING THAT EVEN OUTWEIGHS THE MANIPULATION OF BLOOD! YOU CHANGED HER BRAIN!

"It didn't hurt her! It calmed her down. It made her more like your other sister, Huifan, if anything."

"But it didn't last-"

"It lasted long enough. She didn't collapse onto a blithering heap before Kohaku and give the entire operation away, thank the Spirits!"

Jiexue's face scrunched up in disgust. "How could you be so cruel? You're a mother, how would you like it if someone did that to any of your children?"

Izumi's golden-tangerine eyes flared in anger. "I should ask the same of yours. Was it not her who grilled my youngest for half a day on the basis of some groundless suspicions stemming from her efforts to defend her father from sibling assault yesterday!

"Yoko isn't as sensitive as Xiaoyu, and she isn't as young either-"

"-because ten months make SUCH a difference at this age-"

"-we all know that, and so should you!"

"You're right," Izumi responded, crossing her arms. "Yoko isn't isn't WEAK like Xiaoyu, but that doesn't justify the unfair treatment she received from Republic City's former Esteemed Chief of Police! Then again, small wonder your city is constantly falling into disarray with your mother going after the innocents in her investigations."

Jiexue rolled her shoulders, desperately trying to restrain herself from striking the Fire Lord. Insulting her defenseless little sister was one thing, but her mother? Her mother who wouldn't be near death if it weren't for the woman sitting in front of her? Oh no, that was something that could not slide. "LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING, _AUNT_ IZUMI! Do you gain pleasure from hurting little girls? This is my _LITTLE sister_ we're talking about, my sister who wouldn't dare hurt an ant much less act aggressively towards anyone. Do you know what she told me when she came back? Xiaoyu said she was scared of Kohaku but was even more terrified of what _you'd_ do if she returned without anything to say. You are just another tyrant, do you know that? Another CRUEL tyrant who relies on fear to control those within your borders. You're no better than your grandfather, Ozai and his dearest protege Azula! She must be _crowing_ with delight to see what you've done!"

Izumi's hair flared blue as she held back her tears. "You DARE compare me to those MONSTERS? You HAVE NO IDEA what true cruelty is! You have no idea what it is like to be sold as a slave! You have no idea what it is like to be paralyzed AND raped daily for YEARS! To lose a baby and just be discarded like a soiled napkin on a boardwalk on a summer day! You have NO IDEA what it is like to have your five year old daughter torn from your arms and sent away to be abused and molded into a war machine by your enemies."The Fire Lord took a deep breath to control herself. "ALL I DO, I DO FOR PEACE-TO SAVE OTHERS FROM SUFFERING THE SAME FATE THAT I HAVE BEEN SO FORTUNATE TO RECEIVE."

"Is that what you call yourself at night when you look in the mirror before bed? A peacekeeper?" Jiexue asked, arching her eyebrow. "Because that's not what I've seen in the slightest."

"I call myself nothing. I haven't been allowed the luxury of a mirror since I was nine. Mother didn't want me to become vain." Izumi responded, folding her arms and turning away to hide her pain. "They told me Iliana was completely responsible for my appearance, and yet when one hair came out of place, I was the one they blamed."

Jiexue's reaction. "You claim you aren't vain, but did you not exert control over my little sister because you knew you could? You claim to care, might even think it yourself, but the minute your cruel lightning touched my sister we all knew that was a lie. Protecting your nation or not, what you did to my sister was wrong, and nothing more than a political play in your sick and twisted world."

"I am not cruel. I do not give you certain expectations only to change them without any warning. I do not exploit you. I do not use you for political gain or to better my public reputation. I try my best to minimize your pain, but still must do what I have to to protect my family and my nation. As I am sure you would too."

Jiexue just stared back. Her rage was still there. "I am really sorry you had a shit upbringing, Aunt Zumi, but that gives you no right to take out your demons on anyone, much less my baby sister. You will not touch her, not as long as I'm alive, are we clear?"

"Crystal," Izumi replied stiffly, regretting so many moments in her life.

"Good. Now excuse me, for I have to go make sure my mother isn't dying," Jiexue said leaving swiftly.

* * *

Izumi was shaking when Masaru returned to their room.

"I'm sorry!" She cried when she heard the door open. "I know, I shouldn't have snapped!"

"Save your apologies for Lin's children. You've done nothing to me."

"Oh! But I have! They're your nieces- your blood family."

"They're also young. They'll recover, Izumi."

"That is what they said about me all my life but now look what I've become. I'm a monster, just like my forefathers!"

"You're not a monster, Izumi. Just heavily flawed, as is everybody." Masaru replied, lifting the ceremonial armor off of his fiancee's shoulders. "Just breathe. Breathe and let down your hair. Nobody will see you here," Masaru said sitting beside her, removing her crown and golden hairpiece in one fluid movement.

Izumi closed her eyes and her hair turned blue, her six dragons appearing. Five had become so tiny. The largest now was fear.

Masaru stared it down, letting his dragons out as well while Izumi sobbed on his shoulder. His largest dragon was the defender, the one who always husband to Izumi, who battled her fears and tried to build up her happiness again in times like these.

"Why don't we let them battle it out for a while?" Masaru suggested, reaching between her legs.

"Please, don't-" Izumi said, grabbing his wrist before he could touch her. "Just- hold me tonight."

Masaru shrugged and turned her around to untie her gown and corsets for the night before laying down. She tossed the clothes onto the floor and curled up against his body, squeezing her eyes shut while their dragons battled for dominance over each others' energies. "I have become bad, haven't I? Just like Ozai…"

"Don't you think for one moment that-"

"Then why did Jiexue say that?"

"Because she is a child. A child whose mother is immobilized, who saw her baby sister cry. She was angry and wanted to protect her family by scaring you away. She wanted to hurt you." Masaru explained, tucking a lock of blue hair away from Izumi's tear filled eyes. "And YOU let her succeed. Don't blame her for her immaturity. She's only nineteen-"

"I was nineteen and engaged to marry," Izumi responded bitterly.

"Times have changed."

"I know. But my own family shouldn't need protection from me unless… I've truly become as mean as they think me…"

"You're not mean. They're just not used to your penchant for dark lightning," Masaru explained. "Just give them time." Izumi leaned into his chest. She winced as her largest dragon got beheaded to the side of their bed. He held her head with his large hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist. "You're alright," he said holding her tightly. "You're okay. The pain you feel now, will go away… you're alright, you're okay; there is more to you than what they say…" He stroked her temple for a few minutes as she cried for a while, then found the pressure point at the base of her neck and put her down cold just as her mother used to do when she was too anxious to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Iliana found her Fire Lord still in bed. "Come now, my Lord. It is time to wake. You're late, you have a nation to run, and the world waits for no one, not even the Fire Lord." Iliana sang, yanking the curtains over the window open and letting the sunlight flood in.

Izumi groaned. "What would I have to give to get you to assassinate me?" She asked pulling the blankets around her body grumpily.

"Nice try, but nothing could convince me to do such a thing," Iliana said, resting a cool hand on the Fire Lord's bare shoulder. "Get up!"

Izumi stirred and sat up reluctantly, squinting away from the sunlight, not wanting to have to deal with another day.

"Did you sleep well, My Lord?" Iliana asked gently with the kindest smile on her face as if Izumi were again a young, angry little girl.

"As well as I could with Saru beside me, keeping me from exploding in my sleep," Izumi responded, rubbing her eyes wearily as Iliana knelt on the bed behind her to brush her waist length grey hair.

"Good!" Iliana exclaimed. "Now come on. The bath is already beginning to get cold again."

"You really think that would be a problem for me?" Izumi asked trudging off to the bathroom to bathe.

* * *

Her fingers dug into the bedpost as Iliana laced her corsets that morning, just like every other. She pouted and occasionally licked the curtains with blue flames.

"Your futile threats to set the room ablaze won't help you escape your duties, my Lord," Iliana reminded Izumi, amused that the woman still tried. "It has been nearly fifty years and you still aren't used to it?"

"Iliana," Izumi asked. "Have you ever even worn a corset?"

"Never, my lord. Such a fine garment isn't to be wasted on a lowly servant."

"Then imagine for me having your ribs piercing your lungs from dawn until dusk for nearly five decades and then tell me if you ever got used to it," Izumi replied grumpily.

"It can't be that bad. Even Lin's little one, Xiaoyu didn't complain when we laced her in for her date with Kohaku-" Iliana commented casually.

"YOU FORCED MY NIECE INTO A CORSET?" Izumi shrieked, torching the post. Iliana casually put out the fire with a piece of fabric and then returned to the Fire Lord's clothing.

"She wanted to dress in something classical and formal for the wind symphony, so I gave her something classical and formal," Iliana replied simply.

"What difference did you give her?" Izumi asked darkly.

"She's already pretty small, so we just went with twenty seven to twenty three. Something easy for a first-timer," Iliana replied.

Izumi's eyes narrowed.

"I should have banned these things the night of my coronation!" Izumi growled as the door to the room clicked open.

"Mr. Lee!"

"Will you give us the room, Iliana?" Masaru asked. "Don't worry. I'll finish the dressing so we stay on schedule."

Iliana looked between the Fire Lord and the businessman, then bowed to her master and left.

Izumi turned back to the post slowly. "Have you spoken to Genkei? Is he mad that I left him in the outer isles to treat Lin, and didn't take him with me?" Izumi asked as Masaru took the laces that ran up her arching back.

"Not at all," Masaru asked pulling stronger and more at once than Iliana ever did.

"Is he doing okay?"

"Excellently. Only three attempts have been made on his life since we spoke last, yesterday evening," Masaru replied nonchalantly, easily closing the garment around his fiance's hips. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you being sarcastic?" Izumi asked skeptically.

"No. Every true member of the Amber League understands the potential sacrifice they MUST make to keep the peace."

"Then what brings you to my room this morning while I am still indecent?" Izumi asked as he closed the corset around her waist.

"What does decency matter when it is just us, Zumi? Have you forgotten that I know every part of your body? Have you forgotten that I've impregnated you six times? Seeing you middressing is hardly anything out of the ordinary," Masaru said, reaching where the device wrapped her lower ribs.

Izumi gasped. "Saru-" She put a hand to his wrist trying to stop him. "Iliana never closes it! Please- stop- you're hurting me!" Izumi cried as he pulled the corset completely closed around her torso.

He tied off the knot and pulled her against him so that his mouth was near her ear. " Xiaoyu is missing."

"What?" Izumi shrieked trying to turn. He turned her again, so that she remained facing away. He was physically stronger than her, and their bending equally matched, so she couldn't even burst into flames to escape.

"Lin doesn't know, and you are not going to tell her, do you understand?" Masaru asked.

"Saru- after frightening her children and traumatizing her youngest daughter, it is the LEAST I can do now that one's gone MISSING!" Izumi replied, trying in vain to break free from his grip on her body.

"No," Masaru replied firmly.

"Why are you doing this?" Izumi whimpered.

"Jinora came directly to me when she discovered a letter left by her favorite sister. She thinks her sister has a plan and wants us to wait a while before going after her."

"Alright, fine, but why are you closing me in?" Izumi asked, her chest heaving out of her corsets.

"I thought that closing your corsets could remind you with pain that you're still human, since you wouldn't allow me to do it last night with pleasure. You've been slipping, Izumi."

"And who are you to be the judge of my sanity?"

"I feel you. I see your hair turn blue when you're afraid or angry. I hear you argue more and more with old friends and dear family. You hurt two of your nieces yesterday and have fallen out with your favorite moon badger. I know you and under normal circumstances, you would NEVER hurt family under any circumstance. You'd spare them. That is why we built the Amber League in the beginning, remember? - to protect our children and YOUR sanity. You introduced our children to their handlers scarcely an hour after your coronation. Their safety has always been your priority."

"So this is a punishment? From my own fiance-"

"I don't like doing it, Izumi. But it is for the family."

"I don't need to be disciplined by you! I am the Fire Lord!"

"Then act like the Fire Lord and not a terrified child bullying other children to do your bidding!" Masaru yelled at her.

Izumi winced as if he struck her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you. It was out of line as a citizen of our nation and a colleague in the Amber League," Masaru said, finally letting go of the knot that kept Izumi in and stepping away.

"No, you're right. I have been faltering and letting fear corrupt me. I'm sorry…. About everything," Izumi said walking slowly over to the dresser to get a clean pair of pants. "And I won't tell Lin about Xiaoyu going missing."

"Good."

"So will you help me finish or will you leave and call Iliana back in?" Izumi asked impatiently.

Masaru picked up the unyielding shoulder straps that Izumi had hoped he'd forgotten and secured them to her back, looping them under her arms, over her shoulders again and pulled them taut to the original fastenings, forcing her posture straight. She grimaced with discomfort as he then strode over to her concealed closet and produced a clean set of ceremonial robes for his fiancee, holding it up for her to slip in, before securing it with a golden cord around her waist. He reached for the heavy armor and set it gently on her shoulders, tying the collar on last before addressing her already-brushed hair.

"May I speak with Jinora this morning about what she believes to be her sister's plans for the time being?" Izumi asked once all that was left was her crown.

"Yes, but you will not use dark lightning on her, do you understand?" Masaru said, his tone warning.

"Perfectly." Izumi replied.

"Good," Masaru said, slipping her crown into her bun.

"If I could bend metal, I'd crush it and cast it away, never to be seen again just like Kuvira did to that Kyoshi Medal of Freedom. That would be great, wouldn't it?" Izumi asked. Masaru didn't respond. Izumi sighed. "Well, how do I look?" she asked, thinking about the mirrors she was forbidden from having.

"The same as any other day," Masaru replied, tucking that one loose hair behind her ear.

"Thanks," Izumi replied sadly, circling some nondescript place on the floor with her feet.

"You know," Masaru began a little more softly. "You can get a mirror now, and nobody can stop you, _Fire Lord_ Izumi."

"And in theory, I could also stop wearing these wretched corsets, but it is tradition. And my mother has convinced me that they're necessary for the governors and ministers to take me seriously. Or… at least keep them engaged during those dreadfully long policy meetings. I've been made that way. I cannot change."

"You can. You DID for our children. You're not like your mother in that sense. You're a revolutionary, just like those in the Rogue League." Masaru said, removing his hands from her shoulders.

* * *

"Thank you for meeting me here today, Jinora," Izumi said politely, turning away from the window, waving for the fifteen year old to take a seat across from her at the small, round table in the Eastern Tea Room.

"No worries, but I didn't really have a choice, did I, Aunt Zumi?" Jinora asked, settling into her seat.

Izumi let her eyes close for a moment as the comment hurt, but didn't let her anger, or temperature rise.

"You will always have a choice, Jinora," Izumi said softly. Jinora frowned but said nothing in response. "You're probably wondering why I called you here. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I made the wrong choice, so many wrong choices in fact.," Izumi informed the girl, cautiously. She desperately did not want to make any more mistakes with family. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No thanks," Jinora replied, surprising Izumi.

Izumi sat down apprehensively, one hand on her diaphragm, trying to steady her breathing as she sat slowly, her clothing digging into her lungs painfully.

"But Aunt Zumi, why apologize to me? You've done nothing to me-"

"I did. I made a mistake that hurt your sister and by extension you. And I just- wanted to atone for that and help save her if such a move is deemed necessary."

"It is not. Not yet, at least," Jinora responded treading carefully.

"If you are willing, I was wondering if you might divulge what you know of Xiaoyu's plans now that she's left the palace," Izumi stated.

"You didn't read the letter she left, did you?" Jinora asked with a sigh.

"No. I assume Masaru had it- and he didn't seem too keen on wanting me to read it, so I didn't ask."

"And you let that stand?" Jinora inquired.

"I trust and respect his judgement," Izumi replied, looking up.

Jinora took a moment of pensive silence before speaking again. "Is he the only one?"

"What do you mean?" Izumi asked.

"Is he the only one you trust and respect. Does he really rule this country or you?" Jinora tested.

Izumi felt her blood boil, but cooled it quickly, with difficulty. She clenched her fists instead, feeling the palms of her hand bleed, drew a breath, and exhaled slowly. "He has known me since I was scarcely five years old," Izumi said quietly, looking at her reflection briefly in the cup of still perfectly still, cold tea. Jinora's brows furrowed. "He is the only one that truly knows me."

Jinora took pity on her. "Xiaoyu has joined the Rogue League. She wanted to prove to you that she wasn't weak, after hearing the contents of that argument you had with Jiexue. She wanted to show you that she didn't need help to stay calm. She wanted to prove herself worthy of the names Yeshe and Beifong and that she is strong and not the pacifistic airbending nun that my father and her mother wanted her to be."

Izumi's eyes narrowed, and her teeth bared. This was so much worse than she could have imagined. "All she has proven is that she is an impulsive little airhead!" Izumi spat, as two candles on the edge of the room flared. Blue briefly. Jinora sat back in her chair, startled.

"I'm sorry!" Izumi said, quickly shaking her head, extinguishing the flames.

"Impulsive- just like a hot headed aunt/Fire Lord I have recently met," Jinora braved. "Please, Aunt Zumi. Let her go. She has a plan. She may seem innocent, but she is not ignorant. Do not confuse the two."

"Like my aunt Ty Lee," Izumi said quietly.

"Xiaoyu knows what she is doing now."

"I hope you're right, little spiderfly," Izumi said, looking down at the airbending teenager sadly.

* * *

Izumi decided to brave the Earthen Hall for lunch that midday rather than hide away in the solitude of her private offices and try to… be a part of a family again. As she entered the room, leaving Tadashi and Hiryur outside the door, she felt several sets of eyes turn to her. She tried to ignore them as she found her way to the table with food, taking a small bowl and examining everything the cooks had to offer carefully before choosing what to put in her meal. She listened as the chatter of her nieces and nephews gave way to a dismal, maddening silence as she began to fill hew bowl quietly. She reached for an egg and came face to face, eye to eye with one of Suyin's twins. His hair was parted on the left, and his necklace had rounded, not sharp edges. "Wei, why are you staring at me?" she asked sternly.

"Sorry, Aunt Zumi. We're just not used to seeing you here with the common folk," Wei stammered, his gaze pausing on her crown for a noticeable fraction of a second. "- Aunt Zumi." He finished with a nod before taking his large, full plate, and hurrying away quickly.

Izumi sighed, feeling miserable in her skin, wanting so much to shed it like a snake and retreat to the inside of a gopher-hog dwelling and never again have to see another face.

"I guess it is just strange to think that soon you will be part of the family, since you kind of haven't dined with us once since our arrival in your country," Wing added following his twin just as quickly.

Izumi's brows furrowed and she looked down, quickly replacing a brief look of disappointment with indifference before looking up again in search of a seat at one of the six tables. She was alone in a room of strangers. She wondered if this was what it was like the first time each of her children went to school. If they were this terrified in the canteen back before they knew anybody. After a childhood only knowing Saru, so many strangers, so close to her, was terrifying.

"Zumiya, sit here; I'll stand," Masaru ordered, rising with a cleared plate, making a space beside Baatar.

Izumi hung her head and hurried over quickly, always finding security in being near her beloved. Even among old friends, she felt like an alien.

"So," Suyin said taking a sip of wine. "When do you think _she'll_ walk again?" Suyin asked darkly, her cheeks already flushed red from drinking in the morning.

"Hopefully by this evening," Izumi replied. "I haven't yet had a chance to visit Lin this morning, but her central and peripheral nervous system were both left fully intact. She always was fully receptive to sensory input and as of last evening, her motor neurons have been on the mend."

"What did Kohaku Ge do to her?" Suyin asked.

"I don't know. It is difficult to ever know exactly with dark lightning. The art is just as versatile and complex as the human brain. Even my aunt couldn't completely understand all of its applications," Izumi responded.

"Then what was he trying to do?" Suyin asked.

"Kill her," Izumi said, looking Suyin in the eye. _I will not break. Not again. Not today._

"How?" Suyin asked, finishing her glass.

"By shutting down the nerves responsible for the smooth muscle cells. The ones we cant control in the heart, the lungs, and the stomach. Without those, the brain becomes deprived of oxygen and nutrients and dies, in the most terrible way."

The entire room fell silent.

"Zumi, I'm going to check on Genkei and the investigation out east," Masaru said with a hand on Izumi's aching shoulder, checking that the straps were still in place. "Play nicely," he whispered in her ear before kissing the top of her head and walking away.

"Thank you, Love," Izumi replied, squeezing his head before turning her attention to her food bowl. She took a shallow breath and a first bite.

"You look as if you're in pain," Kya noted.

"The crown is just exceptionally heavy today, as it is most days," Izumi replied, honestly.

"I didn't think you'd come," Kohaku said, approaching the airbender with his hands in his pockets. "After everything."

Xiaoyu was swirling a finger in the boiling lake. She turned to him with her striking amber eyes, heart shaped face, and shoulder length wavy hair. "I made a promise I would, didn't I?" She replied smoothly. "Airbender's honor."

He smiled. "So what do you think about my offer?"

"I cannot wait to start at the Academy. You're right. All they do is place limits on what we could achieve. We are the future and need the freedom to explore our potential. We deserve to change with the world," Xiaoyu replied, standing.

He offered her a hand and she accepted it and smiled. With a single motion, he pulled her close and stuck her in the neck with a needle. "You've nothing to fear if here is, indeed, where your true loyalties lie," He said in her ear as she fell limp against him.

* * *

Sunako finished filling her flask with special water collected from the spirit oasis in the Northern Water Tribe and headed to take over for Rinjuk as guard for the Princess's room during the girl cousins' sleepover.

 _ **Xiaoyu's bed is empty,**_ Sunako commented on her parchment with a frown of disapproval.

"Obviously," Jiexue replied tersely.

Sunako raised a brow. _**Are you all privy to her plans with the Rogue League?**_

"Unfortunately," Ikki said from Jinora's bed, where she was curled up against her sister. Sunako noted the stuffed sky bison in the little girl's arms, most likely brought for much-needed comfort.

_**Good. I must say I'm impressed. I didn't think the air baby had it in her to actually stay this long with that bastard.** _

"Do you really think she'll be okay?" Huifan asked.

"If she was paying attention my lessons earlier, she'll be able to tell us if things go astray no matter where they take her," Jinora informed everybody.

"She'll survive. Of that I am sure," Miyoko interjected, laying on her back, staring at the ceiling blankly.

"Why did you do it?" Huifan asked.

"Do what?" Miyoko asked, feigning ignorance.

"I know you told your mom about that interrogation. You knew it would make her angry. You knew the fire in her veins would make her retaliate and targeting my baby sister was easy," Huifan replied.

"You are in a royal palace, in the Fire Nation, no less. Xiaoyu is not the only one with a plan in this mess," Miyoko explained. "Now go to bed. I'm sure tomorrow won't be any easier for anybody."

"Way to keep morale high, Yoko," Ursa grumbled sarcastically as she killed the torches in the room.

"Goodnight, all!"

"Goodnight!"

"Sleep tight!"

"Don't let the nargles bite!" Ikki added.

"What are nargles?"

"I haven't the slightest idea, but I read it in a book in the royal library," Ikki replied.

Some of her cousins groaned while the rest just rolled over and the girls all closed their eyes to sleep.

Sunako waited until all of their hearts slowed into the REM cycle to climb up to Miyoko's top bunk and finish restoring the memories the Fire Lord tried to take away that fateful night.

The spirit water glowed as it eased the eighteen year old's mind.

Sunako was just about done when she felt the cool touch of metal on her neck. _**How did you fool my sleep detection?**_ Sunako asked, holding her parchment to the moonlight.

"You're not the only bloodbender, in this room tonight," Huifan replied, holding six platinum blades to Sunako's neck, ready to decapitate the waterbender if necessary. "Step away from her."

Sunako replaced the remainder of the spirit water into the skein hanging from her belt and rose her nubs in surrender and turned with her eyes closed. As soon as she opened them, Huifan flew across the room by the blood in her body, falling with her knives.

"Fa-ni!" Jiexue screamed, waking up.

"A flame burst from Ursa's fist but died almost instantly as she froze at the end of Sunako's arm.

"You're- a blood bender?" Ursa gasped.

 _ **Always have been. That is why the Fire Lord assigned me to her youngest, so I could protect her from those who hope to destroy our great nation,**_ Sunako replied stilling everybody in the room, waiting for Yoko to wake.

"Well, you're not the only bloodbender!" Huifan said, ripping Sunako from her place, slamming her into the ceiling and then into the floor. Taking advantage of Sunako's newly compromised position, she latched a metal strip around the waterbender's arm and opposite leg, spinning her through the air and slamming her brutally into a wall

Sunako looked up with a feral glint in her eye as she stared down the earthbender challengingly.

 _ **Careful. You don't want to hurt your sisters, or for them to hurt each other!**_ Sunako taunted, throwing Huifan into the bunks with a turn on her knees so that the earthbender would be with her cousins, rendering them unable to surround Sunako when her grip on their blood slackened.

"You will rue the day you stepped foot on Fire nation Soil-" Ursa threatened leaping out of bed with lightning.

"Stop!" Miyoko yelled jumping off of her bunk and onto her older sister, bending the lightning out and at the ceiling.

Huifan bent pillars up to keep it from falling.

"She's innocent! She always has been!" Miyoko said with horror splayed across her face as her memories came flooding back in garbled fragments at first, and then composite scenes.

"What are you talking about?!" Huifan shrieked with disbelief.

"Sunako was my first handler, when I was twelve years old. She played with me and attended all of my lessons and ate with me when mother was too busy to concern herself with actually raising me. She slept with me to keep me safe from-"

_Take the child, but kill the handler and let there be no bloodshed._

Miyoko clutched her head and crouched down as a feeling of electricity surged through her head.

* * *

" _MAAA! STOP!" Miyoko was screaming as electricity surged through her head, infecting her brain, changing things. She had to get away. She saw her mother's hands. Her legs kicking. She tried to bend the energy out of her. She saw her skinny little hand redirecting the lightning fed into her head. "STOP! Sunako is innocent! It was Taemon! MAAA!" Miyoko screamed. Thrashing about before anything went black._

The memory flashed.

" _YOKO! YOKO, RUN!" came Sunako's voice. She had a voice! Miyoko wanted to see her handler, but her memory dove into the vents. Metal latched around her ankle and pulled her out. She saw five men standing around her bound handler on the ground. Two were trying to kill her, but she was bloodbending._

" _But what about you?" Miyoko asked through tears._

" _I'll be fine! Just go!" Sunako yelled. "Yoko fight! Flee! Get to your mother! Warn her! They're coming!"_

" _Silence the blasted woman already!"_

_One man electrocuted Sunako while two others each took a hand, cutting it with a flaming sword, then burning the flesh over to minimize bloodshed. The one with the lightning grabbed her tongue as she threw her head back and screamed and pulled it out, replacing it with two fingers in her mouth, using lightning to melt the flesh and close the wound. As Sunako doubled over over her arms where her hands used to be, the bodies of those three who maimed her were shredded to pieces, their blood frozen into shards sharper than broken glass, forcibly being torn from their bodies by her wild subconscious as she broke down in grief._

_Miyoko shook with terror._

" _She'll probably be traumatized." Taemon's voice suggested to Izumi when they entered the room to find Miyoko covered in blood, kneeling, frozen in place, before a shredded sack of skin and bone in a heap in front of her._

" _OOh I have no doubt," Izumi replied trying to remain collected._

" _You can change that." Taemon whispered. "You know how." Izumi looked down at her baby girl. "Make her forget this ever happened. Spare her that pain."_

" _Is Sunako okay?" Miyoko asked, looking over at her handler who was doubled over in pain. Surrounded by the blood of two enemies and husks of the bodies._

" _Sunako," Izumi said trying to lift her head gently._

_Sunako sat up slightly and showed the fire Lord what they'd done to her. They took her hands and burned the stubs to keep from bleeding out. Then they reached into her mouth and took her tongue, silencing the waterbender. That left only her eyes, and her subconscious to do what she had done, shredded the bodies of their enemies to protect Yoko._

" _You've chosen your agents well, Mother," Taemon said._

_Just then the blood started pooling together. It pulled together into the form of one man and headed towards Miyoko. Miyoko screamed in terror and dove aside. Just beyond the blood monster's shoulder, were Taemon's eyes glaring at it in concentration, unblinking. And yet the only known blood bender in the room, took the blunt of Izumi's fury and received a bolt of paralyzing dark lightning._

" _It wasn't her!" Miyoko realized as the blood man retained its form for a few moments after Sunako was disabled. "MOTHER, IT WASN'T HER!"_

* * *

"It wasn't her! And in her denial mother got rid of her only witness!" Miyoko growled. "We have to warn the family! They're not coming. They're here!" The teen began heading for the door, readying herself to tell her parents the truth.

 _ **Yoko! Don't run ahead!**_ Sunako called flinging her paper in front of the girl's face. She burnt it to a crisp and kept walking as everyone followed.

She turned a corner too quickly and they heard a thud and saw Huan bent over Miyoko's limp body.

"I don't know what happened! It must have been a poison or something! There was no one!" Huan exclaimed brushing Miyoko's hair aside to inspect her face.

 _ **No one except you,**_ thought Sunako as she dropped by Miyoko's side to inspect what was wrong with the girl, trying to stay calm when- her blood was coagulating, rapidly. If circulation was halted completely, she would die in minutes, if they were lucky. Seconds, were more likely.

Sunako fumbled for a new sheet of parchment. _**Huifan! You need to reach into the iron. Unbind the blood cells from each other. Water doesn't behave this way. I cannot control the components that are causing the blockage! You HAVE to help! You're the only one! Ursa! Go with Jiexue and Jinora and wake Masaru and Izumi. Ikki, Opal, stay here, with me!**_

Ursa nodded and ran, holding Jiexue and Jinora's hand.

Huifan reached inside Yoko's bloodstream and tried to breakup the clots.

"I don't understand what I am supposed to be doing," Huifan cried.

_**You can turn a piece of solid meteor into a superfluous fluid. Do the same with the blood in her body. Make it flow again. Get it to the lungs, to retrieve oxygen, pass it through the heart and-** _

"But I don't know which direction! Aren't there blue and red veins with oxygenated and deoxygenated blood? If I go the wrong way, I could just kill her more quickly! I am sorry, Sunako, I have never been trained in human anatomy or healing! I don't know!" Huifan cried.

Ikki hid her face in Opal's chest with the stuffed sky bison in her arms, crying.

 _ **Then at least unclot and reliquefy it so I can reestablish the flow. Can you do that?**_ Sunako asked.

Huifan nodded. "I'll try."

Four minutes passed before Izumi and Masaru arrived.

Izumi dropped by her daughter's side and placed a hand on her head and her heart.

"Spirits hear my prayer, if there be death tonight, take me and not my daughter," Izumi whispered.

"Sunako, you're maintaining the flow?" Izumi asked.

_**Yes, my Lord-Huifan, another clot in the leg!** _

"Thank you for helping, Yeshe," Izumi said with a nod of appreciation. "As soon as that cleared, I'm going to try to restart the heart and the head."

_**You're sure that's wise, my Lord?** _

"Does it matter? Is anything I do right these days?" Izumi replied, sarcastically in the face of possible death. She looked down with a certain stillness as she mirrored her daughter's peaceful face. "Forgive me, my love. I know no other way." Izumi said before placing a hand on her head and her heart. Her body convulsed violently as Izumi held her down then she let go. Miyoko's chest rose and fell as she started breathing again. Sunako checked Yoko's head as Izumi sat back on her feet and Masaru put a hand on her shoulder.

_**She will live.** _

"She must." Izumi replied. "I already lost Gansu, I will not lose Yoko," Izumi said, quietly staring down at her daughter's face. She looked up at all of her nieces and her other daughter. "How did this happen?"

"We don't know. We were just going to get you when she rounded the corner and ran into Huan-" Opal began to say. "Wait, where is he?"

"Speaking of the devil's son-" Izumi muttered, standing. She turned to Masaru. "Put the palace on lock down. Nobody comes in, and nobody leaves. Send Iyuan and Mizoriko after Taemon. His school house restoration can wait. We need him here. Find Huan. Bring him to me and begin the standard sweep procedures. Family in the Golden Galley and staff in the throne room. Interrogations begin in the morning. Nobody is exempt, not even the most elite members of the league." Izumi ordered, turning to Sunako with her last order.

Even after having her suspicions dismissed for nearly a decade, and being cast out from the Fire Lord's personal guard, Sunako bowed respectfully. She loved her nation and her Fire Lord despite all that had been happening as of late for all the current Fire Lord did, she did for the good of the nation.


	20. Betrayed

**Chapter 20: Betrayed**

* * *

The Golden Galley had been transformed from a spotless ballroom into a clean version of a war-time ghetto. Blankets strung up with twine between the pillars had transformed into hammocks for some of the boys. An assortment of blankets had been piled high for some of the girls, and a space had been cleared and 'de-polished' for Huifan to sleep directly on the dirt beneath.

In the throne room, Izumi was overseeing the set up of the staff's sleeping quarters. All nonessential tasks were halted. 95% of the palace was left unpatrolled so that the guards could be collected in the throne room.

"My Lord," Iyuan and Mizoriko returned, empty handed.

Izumi examined the void between the two men. "Where is he?"

"Customs say that he never left the Fire Islands," Iyuan replied.

"But hasn't been seen since leaving two days ago, by anybody My Lord. I am sorry," Mizoriko informed her, bowing low.

Izumi drew a breath pensively. "As I am sure you've heard, we are having interrogations here today," she began flatly.

They both nodded.

She eyed them both, then froze on Iyuan. "Thank you, Iyuan, for volunteering to go first," She said. "I will see you in the Granite Chamber in precisely four minutes. You know what to expect."

"Yes my Lord," Iyuan sighed, looking down.

"My Lord?" Another high ranking league member called.

Izumi turned to find another pair of her henchmen return empty-handed.

"Huan Beifong is nowhere to be found within our jurisdiction." the first informed the Fire Lord.

"Have you spoken with customs?" Izumi asked.

"He has not left the country," the second responded.

"And no one can find him?" Izumi verified.

"It appears so. Shall we request aid from the Dai Li?"

"No. They cannot be trusted."

"Then shall we tell the Earth Queen that her son is missing?"

"No, I will," Izumi decided. She left the throne room to Genkei, who had been called back for the interrogation day, and headed to the Golden Galley.

"Zumi! You're here!" Suyin said surprised, sitting with Kya, Tenzin, and Masaru by Lin's bedside.

Izumi bowed low before looking straight into Suyin's eyes.

"What's happened? Why the change?" Suyin asked.

"Your majesty, I regret to inform you that your son, Huan Beifong is now a fugitive to the Fire Nation. In absentee he has been found guilty of attempted murder of Miyoko Lee by bloodbending-" Izumi informed the Earth Queen.

"This is RIDICULOUS! My son is GOOD!" Suyin yelled, leaping off of Lin's bed to attack Izumi. Tadashi rose a boulder with one hand and a blade with the other, ready to spear through the Earth Queen at the slightest hint of danger to the Fire Lord.

"You thought the same thing about Junior and now where is he?" Izumi replied.

"There must have been a misunderstanding!" Suyin yelled. Hiryur hauled the Fire Lord of the floor, heavy ceremonial armor and all and then stepped back.

"My daughter drops dead in an empty hall with him bent over her body. I saw his face and after Sunako and Huifan had Yoko breathing again, he was gone. He had a mission, he failed it and now he has fled off the face of the world-"

"I want to hear his side of the story!"

"And you will, IF you help me find him," Izumi replied.

"Why should I help you find him? So you can incarcerate him?"

"So he can stand trial before an international tribunal while you're still here to get him a lawyer. If you leave him here and we find him, there will be no trial and you may never see the boy again.

Suyin sighed. "What do I need to do?"

Izumi looked around. "I need scribes. Ones I can trust to record everyone's responses during the interrogation,. Bataar can help too."

"Why don't you just have members of your League do it?" Suyin asked bitterly.

"Because I can only be certain of the loyalty of about two of my members right now," Izumi said glancing at Masaru. "And one of them is rather preoccupied for the time being," Izumi said turning to where Sunako was helping Kya roll Miyoko to make sure she didn't get bed sores while she healed.

Against a wall of the Golden Galley, just beyond the main atrium, Tetsuya stood with his back against the wall beside his brother. "Will you be okay?" Tatsuya asked his twin.

Tetsuya watched Izumi return to the throne room with Suyin, Baatar, and Huifan.

"Wait!" Lin called throwing the red sheet off of her bed, and sitting up abruptly. "I don't want Fa-ni witnessing whatever the hell you're going to do to those people."

"Mom, I am twenty-four years old. I can handle watching a little light torture, especially if it is necessary," Huifan replied.

"Honey, you can barely even stand. Please-" Tenzin begged, trying to hold her back.

Lin raised her hand, twisted her wrist, and bent her daughter by the metal belt and wrist guards she wore to the opposite side of the room. Then, she propped herself up with an earthen walker.

"I don't need to stand to use my truth seeing abilities. I just need a bare foot on the floor," Lin replied, hobbling weakly over to Izumi, Baatar, and the Earth Queen.

* * *

Xiaoyu woke on a bench in a carriage. She still had all her clothes and she didn't feel any different, so she assumed no one had violated her, at least not too badly. Still, for an instant she panicked before quickly regaining control of her emotions, heart, and breathing.

"Was there a reason you sedated me?" She asked Kohaku who sat across from her, with his legs crossed, looking more calm and collected than ever. There was a sense of pride about him. He had just succeeded in one of the most difficult missions ever given to him even though he broke protocol several times. That surely wouldn't matter now though, at least not to his superiors.

"For security purposes only. As you know, anyone can string together fancy words, but they could mean nothing. Until we are certain of your loyalty, we cannot disclose the location of the Academy," Kohaku replied.

"Fair enough," Xiaoyu replied, mirroring his posture in an effort to appear more relaxed than she really was.

Was there a reason you so suddenly decided to join our cause after expressing a desire to never see me again, Xiaoyi?" Kohaku asked with a smirk.

"I finally came to my senses, you could say. I couldn't stay. You're right about it all. They just held me back, trying to protect me from nothing. They're hypocrites telling us to do our best, be our best, and then they never let us leave because the world is too dangerous. How can you learn if all you know is familiarity? I had to get out, to be free and give others the opportunity to experience such freedom. I want to learn and master lightning bending and firebending. I want to reach my full potential and my greatest strength. I want to help the children rise against the older generations. Their fear of what could be has only hindered the progress we could enact and advances we could make." Xiaoyu lied in a manner she hoped was convincing.

Kohaku's grin widened, showing the girl that he had believed every word. "Excellent, Xiaoyu. If what you say about how you feel is true, then I think you will do well at the Academy. There, all others are like you. They all agree and believe the same thing. The era of four elements and four nations is over. They understand that it is time to break down the borders and shatter this illusion of separation. It is time to show the world that we are all capable of greatness together and that we are connected to everything including each other."

"Sir, we're here," the carriage driver said opening the door for them.

"Come, Xiaoyi," Kohaku said taking the airbender's hand gently. They were by another boiling lake surrounded by tree-covered mountains and various rock formations. Kohaku led Xiaoyu to the mouth of a cave where they came unto a heavy platinum door.

"Password?" the doorkeeper asked.

"Sabekhain," Kohaku answered.

The door unclicked and swung open. "A new recruit?" the doorkeeper asked, eyeing Xiaoyu. She smiled demurely at him.

"Yes. I've brought her to learn our ways."

"You're sure she can be trusted?"

"She's more fit for the Rogue League than you," Kohaku replied with a playful smirk, leading Xiaoyu into the dark network of tunnels in the mountain, past training rooms with firebenders, waterbenders, and earthbenders all wearing the same black uniforms that covered everything except their eyes and their hands.

"I know you must be excited, but don't feel the need to jump into class quite yet. First you need to get a uniform, and then allow your eyes to adjust to the light," Kohaku explained.

Xiaoyu looked up at the lightbulbs that hung on wires that lined the tunnels. "But why would I need to adjust when there is still light?" Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"Because the lights will go off randomly when there is still so much left in the day, to force all of the earthbenders to hone their seismic sense to help their comrades."

"There are other earthbenders that know seismic sense?" I thought my grandmother-"

"Kept it in the family? She didn't decide to hoard the skill until she gave birth to your mother. But before that, whole schools learned the skill in its most basic form."

"Huh, interesting," Xiaoyu nodded.

"Anyways, here, we've reached the wardrobe room. This is Nika. She will get you fitted with new clothes."

"Thank you, Kohaku," the woman said, bowing.

"Thank you. Now if you excuse me, our leader will be very pleased to hear about you finally join our league," Kohaku exclaimed.

Xiaoyu did not wait for him to go before turning to the person manning the wardrobe room. Xiaoyu looked up at the eyes of the figure in the dim light. "You're Nika?"

"I am. Now if you will please remove what you have, I will get you a new suit," Nika asked.

Xiaoyu didn't ask any questions now. She didn't like disrobing in the open room with the door to the hall nonexistent, but if she were to fool them, had to display her willingness to do anything.

Nika returned quickly with a pair of black pants, boots, and black shirt that opened and overlapped in the front.

"Tie it at the neck, under the arm, at the rib and waist here, right over left ," Nika instructed as Xiaoyu shoved her arms through the loose sleeves.

"Like a corpse on a funeral?" Xiaoyu asked more curiously than anything.

"Exactly."

"Why?"

"Because like the supposed separation of the elements, we believe that time is an illusion and so is death. We are the people that the world does not believe exist. We are as good as dead to those who live on the surface. We have been neglected for generations and spoonfed nothing but limitations. But we are powerful and the time has come for us to show ourselves."

"Why have you trained in the shadows until now?"

"Because history has shown that people don't react well to what they don't understand. They won't like us which is why we have waited until we can predict, with absolute certainty, our success in the fight to come."

"And when do you think that will be?"

"Soon. Very soon. Rumor is that you're one of the last three the leaders have targeted to join our cause," Nika said, her demeanor smacking of self importance. Xiaoyu pretended that she was flattered, and meekly bobbed her head in turn.

Her innocent demeanor, however, belied the cogs in her head that were already turning. If she is one of the last three, then who were the two others? Were they already here, or had they yet to be convinced.

* * *

Iyuan was sincere. He answered all of the standard questions the way he was supposed to and then came the secrets that Izumi would try to break with her dark lightning.

"There is a quarter of this Palace rumored to be completely guardless. Name a way to get in," Izumi ordered.

"There is no such thing," Iyuan replied looking up into Izumi's eyes from where he knelt on the granite floors of the Granite chamber.

"He's lying," Lin whispered to Suyin.

"He is supposed to." Izumi said normally. "Iyuan, there is a quarter of this palace rumored to be completely guardless. Name a way to get in and we can move on to the next man."

"There is no such thing," Iyuan replied.

Izumi walked around behind him and reached out a hand to the back of his neck.

As soon as the tip of a finger made contact, Iyuan started screaming. Suyin and Bataar both jumped in their seats, Lin frowned, but Izumi, remained unchanging. She held him by the neck and administered the lightning, counting to sixty three times in her head before releasing his neck. Iyuan fell to the ground in a heap, panting. His energy had been drained and his entire sensory system overloaded with pain.

"What in spirits' name is she doing?" Suyin asked her sister.

"What she thinks is necessary," Lin replied.

Izumi knelt down behind the man who lay in a heap, curled up and shaking. "There is a quarter in this palace rumored to be completely guardless. Name a way to get in and the pain can end," She whispered in his ear.

"There… is… no… such… thing…" Iyuan replied breathlessly.

Izumi turned him onto his stomach and then pressed her hand flat against his back. Suyin covered her ears. "How many times does she have to do this?"

"However many times it takes to-"

Iyuan mumbled something. Izumi bent down to hear. "He's clear to go." She said, standing. Suyin made a note and watched as two guards came in to haul him out a back door.

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine in about an hour— Genkei, bring in Mizoriko," Izumi ordered.

Clear.

* * *

After being shown to her new sleeping quarters and given a set of texts by the Avatar Aang and Guru Pathik, and General Iroh of the Fire Nation, it was time for lunch. The canteen was a massive hall packed to the brim with more "shadows" Xiaoyu decided to call them since they all looked dark, black/grey, and the same.

As she walked trying to find a seat, she heard someone call out "Hey NEWBIE!"

She almost wanted to ignore the caller when someone grabbed her wrist.

"Sit with us," the stranger said, sliding over to make room for the airbender.

"How can you tell that I am new?" Xiaoyu asked.

"Your amber eyes. They're still so bright-so full of love and life," the first person who called her name said, sitting across from her.

Xiaoyu studied what she could see of him through his hood and his mask. His eyes were green, like her mother's, with a hint of gold around the rims. Perhaps he too had a mixed heritage.

"And yours aren't?" Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"Nah! They beat that passion out of me in the beginning."

"What?" Xiaoyu asked, slightly more startled than she should have been.

"Don't scare the newbie!" the young man's masked comrade scolded, elbowing her friend on the shoulder playfully.

"What?" The young man shrugged. "She should know what she's in her for. She was foolish to come willingly."

"Hush up about that! You don't want to get killed with the other dissenters!" the friend hissed.

"Killed? I thought this was where people came to free themselves from limitations, and learn to master the full extent of their abilities," Xiaoyu replied slowly.

"Who fed you that load of pigeon scrap? This place is a training ground for an army no more merciful than the Dai Li! Trust me! I was one of them before they negotiated a trade for me. My handler in Ba Sing Se said the Amber League payed four million bahn for me!" the man whispered confidentially, leaning across the table.

"Why didn't you fight them if you didn't want to come?" Xiaoyu asked.

The young man laughed. "Trust me, I tried. But no training the Dai Li could EVER provide can prepare one for a fight against three loyalists from the Fire Nation's Amber League."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Xiaoyu asked suspiciously, wondering if anyone could be trusted in a place like this.

"Yeah, why ARE you telling her all of this, Nikita?" the girl sitting next to the young man hissed.

"Because I don't want her to get brainwashed like the rest of the newbies they captured last year," Nikita replied.

"How long have they been capturing people?"

"A decade at least, give or take a couple experiments and breaks," Nikita shrugged, taking a sip from a goblet of water.

"And how long have you been here? What element are you leaning?"

"I came in five years ago, I think. It is hard to tell how the time passes with no sunlight. They've decided I have the potential to bend air, but so far, all I've been able to blow was my candle and my side hoe here-" the young man said, nudging the girl sitting next to him.

"NIKITA!" She shoved him off the bench.

"Why don't the earthbenders tunnel out?" Xiaoyu asked.

"Because they can't without getting caught and taken back again. The League has convinced a member of the prestigious Beifong Family to share their secrets of seismic sense. They teach it to the most loyal, the most willing to torture and torment," the stranger who first dragged Xiaoyu onto that bench explained.

Xiaoyu held her breath. _WHO?! It couldn't be Hungjian or Jin or Huifan! Wing? Wei? They would never betray aunt Suyin. Then… that only leaves… Huan…_

Xiaoyu thought back to that week before Mom's wedding when Huan helped Huifan build their mother's dress. She did mention he seemed a bit off and even more quiet than he already was. Then back at the palace, he never did show up to meals or any other family activities. The only time that Xiaoyu did see him, he was he was watching everyone interact from the shadows.

A set of sharp fingers locking around her arm pulled Xiaoyu out of her thoughts and back into the cave where the shadows trained for something. Her heart stopped for an instant.

"I apologize for startling you," Kohaku said smoothly, appearing behind her. "I was just wondering if you would like to share with the group your reasons for volunteering yourself for our cause, Xiaoyu. I am sure everyone would like to hear from you, a Yeshe, and a Beifong."

A granddaughter of the Avatar and the greatest earthbender that ever lived. Xiaoyu wanted to prove that she was worthy of her lineage. That she could continue to follow in her grandparents' footsteps, break the chain of tradition and do whatever else it takes to help keep the world safe.

"I would love to," she replied, standing and following Kohaku to the front of the room.

"You can take off your mask if you'd like, but just for the presentation. Just start with it on."

"Okay."

One of the leaders rang a gong and the dining hall fell silent. Kohaku stood Xiaoyu on the center of the stage then took a few paces back falling in line with his comrades.

"Hello everyone. My name is Yeshe Xiaoyu, daughter of Lin Beifong and Tenzin Yeshe, Granddaughter to Toph, Satoru, Aang and Katara, and I have come to join you in the quest to liberate the world from those who impose limitations on human potential. A wise man once told my grandfather that the greatest illusion that exists is the illusion of separation. Those we love are never lost. Those who die are never gone, and those we think are different from us are all one. We are all connected to each other, living and breathing together with the ability to overcome any boundary or border and truly connect to ourselves and other societies. We must gain mastery of ourselves and then work together to advance society and spread our teachings so that all can reach their highest potential. Only then will we find peace in existing," xiaoyu said feigning confidence in what she was saying. The crowd of students gave her thundering applause and support.

"Thank you, Miss Xiaoyu! Now Master Keiji give the general announcements!" Kohaku said dismissing Xiaoyu from the stage.

"What in Oma's cave was that?" Nikita asked

"Complete bullshit," Xiaoyu gasped sitting down again.

"Tell me about it!"

"See this is the problem with the Amber League. They've swayed so far from their founder's philosophy that nobody, not even those in positions of leadership know what the hell they're doing or why the hell they're there. It's just tradition."

"The very thing that they are trying to get rid of."

* * *

They went through the palace staff quickly and easily without torture. Izumi's glare was enough to have them spill every secret they had: every secret affair and guilty habit.

Then one butler. "I served tea to the twins Tetsuya and Tatsuya. The Earth Queen's sons, Huan, Wing, and Wei also joined them."

"Do you remember the contents of their conversation?" Izumi asked.

"Parts of it. It seemed pretty mundane to me," the man shrugged.

"Any information pertaining to them no matter how mundane is vital to this investigation," Izumi informed the butler.

He thought for a few moments. "One of the twins I think-Wei, was it?-was mildly infatuated by the twins."

Suyin felt conflicted, torn between laughing at the one son flirting with a cousin before learning their relation but at the same time, crying that another son was a prime suspect in this investigation.

"Let me help you remember," Izumi said, touching a hand to either side of his head.

"Did Huan say anything during the encounter or was the entire exchange between the twins?" Izumi asked, knowing the second eldest child of the Earth Queen was a quiet one.

"He said first… 'Can you elaborate?'" the butler said.

"In response to what?" Izumi asked.

"Tetsuya's claim that 'what they [he and Tatsuya] share in physical likeness, [they] lack in the similarity of personalities'," the butler answered. "To which Huan asked, 'can you elaborate?'"

"And what did the twins tell him?"

"Tetsuya claims to have 'inherited mother's brains' and told their Earth Kingdom Cousins that Tatsuya 'inherited her strength'. The twins were intrigued. Then Huan added that Tetsuya also inherited 'Azula's fourteen-year-old arrogance,'..." the butler continued.

"So Huan knew the twins before all this," Izumi thought.

"You don't know that, Izumi. Maybe it was just his assessment based on your twins' way of speaking during that initial meeting.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you, Huan?" Tatsuya asked turning to the earthbender with the green bangs.

"What's there to say? You already know everything about us-" Huan shrugged dully.

"It is just casual conversation. Don't you want to get to know us?" Tatsuya asked feigning hurt.

"I was earth King for a week. Do you really think that in that time I wouldn't have placed a couple Dai Li agents under my command?" Huan asked blasé.

Tetsuya and Tatsuya were both smiling while Huan couldn't look more disinterested.

"You're a wise man, Huan," Tetsuya said, raising his teacup.

"Thank you for sharing, Mr. Niro," Izumi said, releasing his head.

"It is always a pleasure serving my Lord. I hope you can find what or who you are looking for," the butler said.

"I need a break," Izumi decided after Niro had left.

"Izumi," Suyin followed Izumi through a concealed door that nobody noticed before since it was flush with the wall.

"If the Rogue League is working WITH the Dai Li through Huan-"

"Which is highly unlikely."

"Su- when was the last time you even spoken to ANY of your staff?"

"A few weeks ago?"

"UGH!"

"What?! This is vacation!"

"You're SUPPOSED to be a queen. You can't just completely abandon your nation for vacation! Even Iroh and Takeo check in on their armies daily and they're generals!"

"Well that's because they're Fire Nation," Suyin replied.

The door opened and Masaru rushed in, grabbing Izumi's face, kissing her impatiently.

"Genkei said you needed a break. Are you okay? I can continue with the members of the League if you want to stick with Palace Staff," Masaru offered compassionately.

"I'm fine. It was a member of the Palace Staff that overheard Huan making a comment about when he was Earth King during the last Siege of Republic City, he placed a fraction of the Dai Li under his command."

"If he has been using them and working with the Rogue League, they could do anything," Masaru said stepping back. "This is bad."

"Why do you both have to be so morbid?" Suyin asked.

"Forgive us for caring about our nation and our family!" Masaru snapped.

"You call this caring about family?"

"Su, if you don't agree, then leave. Only justice can bring peace," Izumi echoed the words of Avatar Kyoshi.

"If I go, I'll come back with an army," Suyin threatened.

"Then do it. If it is true, that Huan has some of your dai Li under his command, it would be only too easy for him to be the true ruler of the Earth Kingdom from the shadows."

Masaru took over the interrogation of some of the league members while Izumi stood between Lin and Suyin, watching.

* * *

Xiaoyu was a natural. She split fire easily but couldn't seem to generate it. She always returned lightning which fortunately for her, not many people were able to generate or even redirect. She was undefeated in the sparring ring. Every time she fought she just thought about trying to escape.

"Are her eyes dimming?" the instructor asked his assistant.

"No. She is a defiant young one," the assistant replied.

"Naturally," the instructor replied approaching the new recruit.

Xiaoyu looked up. Her clothes had soaked through with sweat and her mask was wet.

The instructor grabbed her by the chin and tilted her head up further, examining her eyes.

"They're a pretty shade of Amber. Maybe we shouldn't dim them. In time, she can become the new face of the League," the instructure mused. "Now go, fight Ocean-Eyes over there next.

"Please, go easy on me, I'm not very good," the blue-eyed water tribe boy cried.

Xiaoyu smiled, before realizing he couldn't see her mouth under the mask. She settled into her lightning stance and struck the wall behind him, just beside his head. He flinched.

"Foolish girl," the instructor yelled striking the water-tribe boy square in the chest then turning her attention to Xiaoyu. "We haven't the room for the weak or the merciful. This the Rogue League! We must be just as deadly if we're to survive every evening!" the instructor yelled slapping the airbender, knocking her to the ground.

* * *

Hiryur. Clear. Tadashi. Clear. Rinuk. Clear. Fenjing Clear.

"Unako?" Izumi asked.

"My Lord, he has ignored the summoning. We don't know where he is," the palace guard informed Izumi.

"Missing with his master. Figures," Izumi muttered. "Then bring in Daisuke."

Daisuke entered the Granite Chamber and knelt before Masaru Lee. He answered all the standard questions with ease, then they reached the testing questions made specifically for Members of the League.

"There is a rumor that a class one fugitive from the last war was released by the former Fire Lady. What was her name?" Masaru asked. The member of the League is supposed to say "There was no such thing."

"Wait!" Daisuke yelled, raising his hands, breaking protocol. Izumi frowned. "Good sir. I- If I tell you what I know of my charges, will you promise to kill me?" Daisuke asked.

"You do not make demands of your leading officer," Masaru said.

"Then I will not speak," Daisuke replied.

Masaru stepped behind Daisuke and moved his hand to the League Member's neck.

"I'll kill him afterwards," Izumi said, stepping forward, stopping Masaru.

"They ask me to assist them with cover ups. They have me clean up after their various scuffles. Sometimes they ask me go for them," the man divulged.

"Go where?" Masaru asked.

"Random homes, I think," Daisuke replied.

"And you dared to listen?" Masaru asked incredulously.

"What were their instructions?" Izumi asked.

"Always the same: 'Take the child, kill the parents, let there be no bloodshed,'..." Daisuke answered dutifully.

"And why do you wait until now to speak?" Izumi asked.

"For the longest time, I was convinced you wouldn't believe me. Taemon and Tetsuya were so confident that your love for them would cloud their judgement. And they were right. There was no way out. If I spoke against them, I feared you would dismiss me, just like how you dismissed Sunako…" Daisuke said.

"Spirits!" Izumi cursed running her fingers through her hair. "Bring in Tetsu!"

"My Lord, wait! If it isn't too out of place, I must recommend you finish the interrogations before confronting Tetsuya on my claims."

"How do we know you're not just buying him more time to execute whatever he is planning?!" Masaru asked raising his hand again, ready to strike again.

"Because I don't know his plans for those children!" Daisuke replied sharply, turning his head to face Masaru, breaking protocol again. "You're both wasting your precious time and energy with your traditional methods, Mr. Lee." He turned to Izumi. "Be swift with the extraction. Invade the minds of the members of the League. It is the only way since you've trained us all too well on how to lie," Daisuke said standing. Masaru and Izumi both raised their hands to Daisuke. Izumi moved to block Suyin, Lin and Baatar.

"You weren't given permission to stand, Dai," Masaru replied.

"I know," Daisuke said pointing two fingers on each hand to the ground and blasting the granite apart. Suyin kicked her foot up under the table where she sat raising an earthen wall between Izumi and Daisuke shielding them. Masaru blocked with a shield of the fire of life, Lin cleared the dust only to find the Twins' wayward handler gone.

* * *

"I've done exactly as you said, now we need to go!" Daisuke said to Tetsuya in the shadows of the Golden Galley.

"There have been a change of plans. You go ahead to the Academy. We have to wait until Yoko wakes—," Tetsuya said, looking over at his littlest sister in the hospital bed, Sunako by her side.

"Good luck," Daisuke said quickly before fleeing.

"Why haven't they sounded the alarms now that Dai's defected?" Tatsuya asked his brother.

"They're trying to be discreet," Tetsu replied calmly.

"Wouldn't it be better to leave this place in chaos-"

"Not necessarily. Just wait, dear brother. Patience is key." Tetsuya replied.

Tatsuya slumped to the floor and blew a loose strand of hair away from his face and picked at some dirt under his nails and looked away. Tetsuya remained standing, his back straight as the wall against which he stood, his gaze unchanging, and arms folded, waiting.

"Sunako," the palace guard called.

 _ **Ursa, Huifan, will you stay with her?**_ Sunako asked.

"Sure thing," they said, flanking the young lady's bed.

Sunako went with the palace guards.

Tetsuya waited until the waterbender was gone before approaching Yoko's bed.

"Excuse me, Ursa, Huifan, but may I have a word with my dear sister?" Tetsuya asked politely.

They both eyed him suspiciously, then stepped aside.

Tetsuya sat for a few moments, counting the seconds that passed, mentally going through the protocol his parents would use to interrogate Sunako. They would ask her no questions. They would simply make her hurt until her parchment fell, and her body became too weak to bend a drop of water. He slid a his hand under Miyoko's neck and touched the base of her head and mapped. Her entire nervous system with dark lightning. He noted the energy flow and signaling. She was very much alive. Very conscious and waiting… She was a very good little liar, convincing everyone she was still injured. Tetsuya bent down to her ear.

"Dear Yoko, I know you can hear. Our time to rise is drawing near. At the earliest opportunity you get, join us, and together we will free our mother and so many others from the unjust bounds of tradition." Tetsuya whispered. He sat up again and looked down at her peaceful head. Nothing changed. Her breathing remained steady and not a single muscle in her body responded.

"Will she be okay?" Ursa asked Tetsuya.

The man turned to his half sister, the Princess who was born three years after him. "She'll be more than okay. Her strength when she returns will be unrivaled. I am certain of it." He said gazing down at her.

"Tetsuya," the palace guard called.

"You get interrogated with the members of the Amber League? Not the Family?" Huifan asked.

"I am a level ten, if you've forgotten. And Members of the League are far more dangerous than family, even if the family members are extremely powerful direct descendants of Avatar Aang," Tetsuya said to Huifan and Ursa before going with the palace guards. He was brought to the Throne room where all of the cleared league members were standing by waiting to defend their Lord and their Master. The cleared palace staff had been released to continue their regular routines, and Tetsuya knew the Granite Chamber had been destroyed. He glanced quickly at Sunako whose parchment was already floating again.

"Fire Lord Izumi," Tetsuya bowed to Izumi who stood on her throne behind a wall of blue flames. "Mr. Masaru Lee," He bowed to his father who stood on the same level as him off the dais of their nation's sovereign.

Off to the side, Aunt Lin, Aunt Suyin, and Uncle Baatar sat, Suyin and her husband both with quills in hand ready to start recording.

Tetsuya took a deep breath and slowed his breathing and knelt, feeling the earth with his hand, reaching for the heart beat of Lin Beifong. The former chief of Police could tell something was off about him, and he could measure her unease.

"State your name lineage back three generations and titles,"

"I am Tetsuya Lee. I was born in the Fire Nation Capital City. Son of Fire Lord Izumi Hatsuharu Ido and Masaru Lee. Grandson of Fire Lord Zuko Azinashuro Ido, Fire Lady Mai Minagawa, Toph Beifong, and Satoru Lee, great grandson of Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Ursa, Governor Ukano, Lady Michi, businessman Lao, and Lady Poppy, Lieutenant Chu and Lady Ta-Ming Lai. I am a Level 10 manager in the archival department of the League's census division."

His heart was strange. It didn't exactly flutter but it wasn't steady either. It was unnaturally calm, slow, as if he were dead or dying.

"Fire Lord Izumi, may I have a moment to bring Huifan in?" Lin interrupted. They waited for the eldest daughter to situate herself by her mother.

"Listen," Lin whispered to her eldest daughter. Huifan frowned, sensing the same unnatural beat.

"May we continue?" Izumi asked.

Lin nodded.

"Where were you yesterday evening between the hours of 18h00 and 21h00?" Masaru asked.

"In my study making final preparations to answer a call I was supposed to attend today before the Palace was put on lockdown and everyone ordered to stay," Tetsuya answered.

"Aunt Su, do you—" Huifan asked.

"Feel nothing from him?" Suyin finished.

They finished the standard questions and then began the test.

"There is a rumor that our sovereign has birthed several bastards," Masaru began slowly. "Can you give one of them… a name?"

"There is no such thing," Tetsuya replied, looking up into his father's eyes. Izumi's narrowed.

Masaru stepped behind his son and lifted his hand to the man's neck. "There is a rumor that our sovereign has birthed several bastards," Masaru repeated slowly. "Can you give one of them a name?"

Tetsuya looked into his mother's eyes since protocol didn't allow him to turn his head during the test. "There is no such thing."

"He has no heartbeat," Huifan breathed. "Just like Taemon, who is missing!"

"Very perceptive, Cousin. Very Perceptive indeed," Tetsuya said laughing, standing. Masaru raised a hand to the back of his son's neck.

"There is no use interrogating him! He can say anything and NOTHING will change! He's guilty but by his level of comfort, he isn't the leader. His secrets are still safe with somebody and he knows even if he is locked away, the original projects he has been working on will continue to progress as if there were never any interruption in the first place!"

"How can you tell?" Suyin asked.

"Because she can read me. She too is just as capable of great light and great darkness, and because she has already been fed some of our philosophy, through Taemon," Tetsuya replied smiling.

"Have him transferred to the tundra! Tell Eska and Desna to construct the greatest security cell they have ever envisioned and that I'll reimburse them two times over for all of their troubles. I'm sure they'll enjoy the exercise immensely," Izumi ordered.

"No, he's prepared for it-" Huifan said reading the grin on Taemon's face with worry. "If anything, the bottom of the ocean will be better. The cold and darkness will smother the light of his inner flame."

 _I have trained them too well and now they have beaten me,_ Izumi thought of Taemon and Tetsu, with a tear threatening to piece through her shield of strength. "For now, subdue him," Izumi ordered.

Masaru charged up a paralyzing hand of dark lightning but just as he grabbed his son's neck, the boy discharged it, grabbed his father's arm and neck and lurched forward, hurling the elder over his shoulder and into the ground. Masaru rolled and at the same time, he and Izumi shot lightning towards their son.

Tetsuya rolled towards the Beifong Sisters, Huan and Baatar, who threw the table aside so his wife could help his sister-in-law and niece defend.

All elements except air converged on Tetsuya with lethal intent. He couldn't block them all with fire, so he lifted both fists instead and an earthen cylinder rose out of the throne room floor and shattered when hit with the bending of a hundred men.

Lin cleared the dust and Huifan dropped the pillar to find no one where the son of the Fire Lord stood only moments before.

* * *

Tatsuya has moved on from picking his fingernails to picking his toes when he felt an arm loop around his neck and pull him back. He almost yelled but a hand covered his mouth and the wall he had been leaning against swung around.

"Brother!" Tetsu hissed. "It's just me. We have to leave. Huifan found me out before Yoko could wake and fight beside me. We need to get somewhere safe. Are you ready?"

"Always," Tatsuya replied, smiling. The entire palace shook. "What the—"

"Move already!" Tetsuya yelled grabbing his brother's hand, yanking him to his feet. They ran.

* * *

"FIND THEM by whatever means necessary! We can rebuild this piece of shit if needed!" Izumi commanded from her throne.

The whole sections of the roofs were torn off and some walls, collapsed. Other, longer walls were striped, with sections sent into the ground by the earthbenders of the league so that nobody needed to find a door to go through to proceed with the search.

The Amber League split into teams each with one bender of every element and a weapons master.

* * *

Tetsu and Tatsu turned down a hallway and saw the walls on both sides of them start to tremble. Cracks ran from the ground to the ceiling and then the sections fell away.

"HERE!" One earthbender yelled.

Tetsuya slapped a metal cuff from the earthbender's own arm over his mouth then raised a stone and kicked it into his stomach. Tatsuya turned to the other side of the wall and kicked fire towards the three men there trying to interfere with their escape.

"There's no time for games, Tatsu—NOW!" Tetsuya yelled.

Tatsuya raised both hands and all six Amber League agent's froze in place. He lowered them down gently and held their jaws in place so they couldn't speak or scream.

"Can I kill them, brother?" Tatsu asked.

"If you feel it is needed," Tetsu replied looking at one League member he trained with in the beginning.

With a flick of the wrist, the blood burst from their veins that connected the body to the head and they were dead. "Let there be no bloodshed." He said before he and his brother fled.

* * *

After a long day of sparring with some mild abuse thrown in, Xiaoyu was finally dismissed to return to her sleeping quarters when the lights were shut out. She turned around, blind in the absolute darkness that existed six hundred feet underground. She heard a stone door being slid open by an earthbender and then a familiar voice. "Focus. Listen to the earth breathing. Feel for even the tiniest movement- the tiniest shift in the dirt- the faintest heart beat and the slightest lurch. Use all all of the senses in your entire to hear and those in your feet to see," Huan instructed his latest batch of pupils.

By the volume of air moved by their breathing, Xiaoyu could tell that he didn't have many, and by the rate of their breathing, she could tell that they were just as terrified as she. If she confronted Huan, it was very likely they wouldn't intervene.

"What or who can you see?" Huan asked flatly, as if he were bored with teaching.

No! Don't confront him now, Xiaoyi! You will blow everything, you have to be smart about this. Wait! Find out first where you are then plan an escape. Fight him another day when you have Jiexue and Fa Ni and Mami beside you. Although, if you can follow him, maybe he will lead you to the answers you seek.

Xiaoyu decided to follow her stray cousin to see if he would meet with or talk to anybody. She used her airbending to practically float above the ground and followed. The pair of lungs pushing and pulling the air around him.

She began to sweat from the sustained bending, but she still would not give up.

She almost ran into a couple of walls and began sending out little puffs to feel how far barriers were by measuring the time it took for them to come back. She followed him to an empty room.

Then she felt metal strips wrap around her ankles and wrists and ground her on all fours. A stone door slid shut with an echoing thud.

"Frankly, I always thought you were smarter, Xiaoyu. Though exceedingly faint, I could hear your breathing the entire time. A word of advice, your little air sonar does not help your stealth. Why didn't you just go to sleep?"

"Because… I needed to know where we are...what you are," Xiaoyu replied, panting from the solid hour of sustained airbending.

"I think you can answer that yourself," Huan replied, standing above her in the dark, seeing her very clearly with his feet.

"A traitor-"

"A savior," He corrected her.

"How dare you betray our family!" Xiaoyu asked, deciding there was no point holding back now that her cover was blown and her true loyalties known.

"Betray our family? Our family betrayed the world by withholding invaluable information, that the world has a right to know, for their own! Knowledge is power, and hiding it makes one no different than a censoring, oppressive tyrant. I can't see how you're still so proud to be a Beifong or a Yeshe! You're a disgrace to humanity to support those that only enforce outdated limitations."

Xiaoyu blasted him back a few yards with one deep breath and broke free of the metal that bound her to the ground as soon as he broke concentration.

She blindly made an air sphere and slammed him against the wall and then the ceiling, listening for where he could be. He landed and got her location with seismic sense again and sent a metal strip her way. She could barely feel the air the fine blade pushed until it was already practically upon her. She changed its trajectory with a wave of her hand and a bend of the air current and then dove away.

"Stop trying, Xiaoyu! You're not trained in how to deal with shadows. You're weak, too trusting, and you will fall alongside the rest of our family!" Huan yelled sending a flurry of blades her way. She made an air sphere to try to send them all away, but one made it through, and one was all it took, to cut through her.

She felt her breath go and a searing pain surge through her before her body went into shock and cut off the feeling of the metal blade in her lungs, narrowly missing her rib and heart. She couldn't breathe. Her heart went into overdrive. She was losing blood… quickly…

"You- monster…" Xiaoyu croaked.

"Am I the monster, or you for staying with our family who slays anyone and anything that might remotely pose a threat to its iron grip on the world?"

Xiaoyu grimaced.

* * *

They did roll call like a school teacher had to just to make sure nobody else had gone missing. And that was how Lin discovered her youngest daughter was missing.

"According to Masaru, she left a letter," Izumi said, frowning at her fiance.

"A letter which I got from Jinora," Masaru replied, pulling it out of his breast pocket.

_Dearest sisters,_

_I am sorry you have to find out this way, but I'm leaving. Mom and Aunt Su and everybody has always encouraged us to reach our highest potential in bending, and I feel like now more than ever, I need to uncover the secrets of the connection we have to the other elements. I promise I'll come back, eventually, but until then, keep each other safe, please._

_Your loving sister,_

_Xiaoyi Han Yeshe_

"And when were you going to tell me?"

"When she came back. Jinora wanted us to buy her some time," Izumi replied.

"Where is Jinora?" Lin growled, her patience thinning with every second that passed.

"Uncle Saru! I think I found Xiaoyi!" Jinora blurted out as she came running down the hall, sliding into Masaru's stomach after rounding the corner, unable to stop very efficiently on the polished floors.

"That's excellent!" Masaru exclaimed.

"Found, what do you mean found? Was she ever lost?" Lin asked, gazing down at one of her husband's children from Pema.

Jinora didn't respond but slid behind Masaru's leg.

Lin turned to her brother and her former best friend.

"She's joined the Rogue League," Izumi answered.

"And how long were you going to wait to tell me?" Lin asked, too far in shock to even react.

"Jinora seemed to be under the impression that Xiaoyi had a plan. Jinora?" Izumi asked, deflecting Lin's attention to the child.

"Can the explanation wait? I think she's dying," Jinora requested, still hiding behind Masaru.

Lin's own heart stopped for a moment. She came to the Fire Nation for a wedding. First she found out her brother fucked her best friend and had a whole family together in secret. Then she got tied up in some mysterious child-trafficking investigation. In her absence, two of her daughters started dating, she got shot full of dark lightning by one of her daughter's dates, and now that daughter has followed that sick bastard and joined this mysterious Rogue Cult thing.


	21. The Fire Lord's Flames

_**The wise stand back from the fire, fools are burned on the pyre; The mystic becomes one with the flame, the embers and he are the same.** _

* * *

**Chapter 21: The Fire Lord's Flames**

* * *

They decided Izumi, Suyin, Kya, Huifan, and Jinora would go in the first wave to search for Xiaoyu. They had to be quick and discreet to extract the teen before she bled to death and going in a large group would have made being discrete impossible.

Huifan, and Suyin were both in armor, Kya in her normal dress, Jinora in her wingsuit, and Izumi stuck in her ceremonial robes. Masaru offered to go in her stead, but she threatened to explode and blow up what remained of the royal palace after the failed search for Tetsu and Tatsu. Eighteen members of the amber league had been found dead with a burst jugular vein in the sides of their necks with no other bodily harm. Death by bloodbending, something Izumi had hoped never to see.

"You keep the family safe. Take them to the estate. Genkei and Tadashi can keep the remainder of the palace standing until we return. Be safe and constantly monitor Yoko," Izumi reminded him.

"I will!" Masaru said touching his head to hers, holding her arms tightly. "And should you face our boys again, remember: power comes not from strength, but restraint. Remember our lessons."

"Always," Izumi whispered. He kissed her and they departed on Jinora's sky bison, Pepper. Tenzin almost refused to let Jinora join them, but then Lin reminded him that Jinora was the only one who had a chance at finding Xiaoyu since she could use spiritual projection to traverse stone walls without a physical body.

"Aunt Zumi, I know we haven't really talked, but-are you alright?" Huifan asked, concerned about her aunt. The woman looked exhausted, as if she had lived another lifetime in a matter of hours.

"I will be once we have your sister back in one piece," Izumi replied, leaning against the saddle, sitting as far as she could from everybody else.

"Are you cold?" Kya asked, sliding over and snaking an arm over Izumi's shoulders. Izumi said nothing as they flew.

"You're comfortable in the sky," Suyin commented. "Did you fly often on Druk?"

"No, Father never allowed it," Izumi replied. _But I had a dragon of my own, but now she's-_

"You have to turn back! It's too dangerous!" Xiaoyu's voice cried before her spirit transpired before them in the sky.

She was dressed differently, clutching her side which was stained dark.

"Your spirit! It's bleeding!" Jinora gasped at the apparition.

"It is not bleeding," the seventeen year old airbender cried. "I am. You must listen. Do NOT come, Huan can bend earth and water. He is the one who bloodbent Yoko. And Tetsu is fire and earth and Tatsu fire and water. They've all crossed over and convinced hundreds to join them. You don't stand a chance! Rumor is it that their leader can bend everything, even every subelement. It's not safe. I'll be fine. I am not afraid of dying," Xiaoyu 's spirit whispered weakly. "Tell mother I love her, and tell Fire Lord Izumi that I'm sorry, I couldn't make it right. I failed, as a niece and a member of our great family."

"XIAOYI NO!" Jinora and Huifan both screamed as her spirit faded away.

Izumi clutched her heart. It was all her fault that the girl felt the need to prove herself in the first place. She doubled over, sick to her stomach with regret, a migraine pounding against her head.

"It's not your fault," Kya said, rubbing Izumi's back as she tried to cry but couldn't.

"Is it just me, but that didn't sound like Xiaoyu," Suyin thought aloud.

"Huh?" both Huifan and Jinora turned.

"Just the way she spoke. Her choice of words… She would love everybody, not just her mother, and she wouldn't single out Izumi no matter what has been happening lately. It just isn't like Xiaoyi…"

"You don't understand. If Kohaku was able to do what he did to Lin with dark lightning, I would not be surprised if he has been inside her head," Izumi panted, wanting to vomit her regrets.

* * *

Xiaoyu gasped for air then curled up tighter clutching her own body as she lay on the floor in a pool of her own blood.

"Welcome back," Taemon said, standing over her with a hand outstretched.

"Congratulations. You've projected your spirit for the first time," Tetsuya smiled.

"You're officially an airbending master," Tatsuya added.

"Masters don't exist, remember, Brother?" Taemon reminded them. "No one can ever truly be a master when there is so much left to learn." Taemon earthbent a seat for himself while the twins stood behind him.

Xiaoyu squeezed her eyes shut.

"How were their faces?" Taemon asked, leaning forward, perching his elbows on his knees, looking down at the airbender.

"Terrified," Xiaoyu whispered.

"And when they saw you?" Taemon asked.

"Jinora and Huifan- they wanted to cry. Aunt Kya and Su didn't know what to think or do…" Xiaoyu hiccuped and then winced, clutching her semi-healed wound.

"And our mother-" Tetsuya asked.

"Ready to die," Xiaoyu replied.

"Do you think they will turn back after your warning?" Taemon asked the teen.

"No," Xiaoyu replied, shaking with the memory of pain blaring in her mind.

"Good," Taemon replied, standing again, earthbending his seat back flush with the ground.

Tatsuya was almost about to kick the girl when Taemon ordered him to leave her alone. "She needs enough energy to beg her own family for a merciful death," Taemon explained as they went to check the last minute battle preparations and regiment formations.

* * *

"Watch my body. I will find her," Jinora asked her aunts and her sister.

"Be careful, Jinora," Huifan asked, tethering Jinora to Pepper's saddle as she intertwined her fingers to meditate in the lotus position.

After a few minutes, Jinora's spirit returned. "It will be easiest if you follow me in this form. Can someone carry me?" Jinora asked.

"She's in a room in the mountain in a maze of tunnels and caves," Jinora said, leading the Bison down. Huifan strapped her little sister to her back with a bunch of cables and they began walking through the trees.

"I can feel the tunnels," Huifan said.

"There's too many for them to be made naturally by the volcanoes," Suyin added.

"Which means they're probably filled with earthbenders," Kya said.

"But there are no detectable heartbeats. If anyone's down there," Huifan looked up.

"They're shadows," someone whispered. Huifan turned and punched a man dressed in black in the face.

"It's an ambush!" Suyin yelled, slapping blindfolds over their eyes. She attacked another only to have the metal returned. Izumi charged up lightning and faced several coming towards her and shot all of them, roasting them alive.

"How many?" Huifan asked.

"At least a dozen," Kya said, looking at the carnage.

"All dressed in black," Suyin noted.

"With their shirts folded right over left," Izumi said with a distant gaze. "As if they were already dead while they were still living."

"Jinora!" Huifan yelled.

Suyin slapped one of her metal strips over her niece's mouth. "Zip it! Do you want more to come?!"

"What happened?" Jinora asked, peeking her head out of the ground. "Spirits!" Her eyes went wide when she saw the jagged earth and the carnage that remained after the ambush.

"They were ready for us," Izumi answered.

"We have to hurry. Can you not go too far ahead next time?" Huifan asked.

"Sure thing. Dig here," Jinora instructed them. Suyin and Huifan stood side-by-side and sunk a tunnel a dozen feet deep in one motion.

* * *

"I'll take Yoko," Rikuto offered, scooping his little sister into his arms as they began to move.

"Into the secret tunnel," Takeo said, leading them to the secret courtyard in Azula's Quarter that concealed the entrance to the passage their mother took that lead directly to the Earthen Fire Estate in the city, three miles away.

"Sunako," Masaru called as the waterbender watched the eartbender carry her former charge away.

_**Yes Sir?** _

"I just- wanted to thank you. For everything you've done for our nation and our family," Masaru said awkwardly.

_**You speak as if my watch has ended. Are you dismissing me from the Amber League? I know I have been breaking protocol a lot as of late, but I assure you, I still have the nation's best interests at heart!** _

"Sunako, I know. I am thanking you because your watch _has_ ended. I don't want you to be a guard anymore. I- come with us to the estate not as a guard but as family. Genkei and Tadashi can handle the keep."

_**But—** _

"If not for the family, then for Yoko,"

 _ **Yes, Sir**_ , Sunako said, following the family into the tunnel. Masaru, Lin and Tenzin were the last to he'd into the tunnel.

"Have you enough strength to close it or should I get one of your sons?" Masaru asked, shouldering Lin with Tenzin.

"Collapsing things is easy. Goes with gravity. It's lifting that's hard in times like these," Lin said as they made their descent, collapsing the tunnel behind them.

"Hey! I can't see a thing!" Meelo said, walking and holding Rohan's hand.

"Oh no! What a nightmare!" Wing exclaimed teasingly, trying to keep the mood light for their young cousins.

Masaru opened his hand and lit a flame. "Better?" He asked.

"Thank you, Uncle Saru," Meelo said.

Masaru dropped his hand and left the flame suspended in mid air.

"Why don't you boys run ahead with your cousins. The flame will follow," Masaru suggested with a warm smile that put the children at ease.

"Wait! It can do that?" Meelo asked.

"But we're not firebenders! We can't sustain it!" Wing exclaimed.

"I can. Go. It will reach," Masaru said, waving his hand. The flame went ahead.

"I bet you can't catch it," Masaru whispered. The boys took one look at him and took off running down the dark tunnel after the red flame and Masaru lit a second for Tenzin since Lin could navigate with her feet.

"You know, Saru. I still don't understand how you and Izumi ever came to be," Lin said quietly as they walked. "When we first met, you wreaked havoc on my island. Made the children all love you so easily. You set my living room on fire showing off the Dancing Dragon indoors! I thought you were all chill, but if you were, then how'd you deal with Izumi when she gets a little… crazy?"

"I don't 'deal with her'. I love her," Masaru clarified. "She needs someone to remind her that she is still a human worth loving, and that's my job in our relationship."

"Then what's hers? I know we were best friends once, but if these are her true colors under pressure-forgive me for being blunt but she just seems like a chore."

Masaru sighed. "And she is sometimes, but she is what the nation needed after Zuko. Zuko appeased the other countries. Dismantled the military and reformed the social structure slightly but the New Ozai society remained. The people saw him as weak. Believed he was a puppet of the Earth King Kuei and Avatar Aang. Izumi was pure fire. Zuko and Mai wanted her to be perfectly loyal to her nation and her family, and to be the one to officially redeem the honor of our people after a century of dominion. She would be the first in generations to have no blood on her hands. She would be the good one. The perfect one. I saw the pressure from our teachers and her parents begin to form cracks in her very being, but the real Izumi remained. She was as resilient as earth, passionate as fire, fluid as water, and and I admired her. She wanted change. She stood up to the Fire Sages, she stood up to her former husband and she stood up against the belligerents who wanted to reclaim the United Republic as a colony and crushed them before they even reached the shores of their own island to storm yours.

"I saw so much potential in her, and I loved her for who she was and decided I'd do anything to protect her for the sake of the nation. The New Ozai Society, the extreme progressives would have led us into civil war before turning their eyes on the former colonies and starting another century of war." Masaru finished. "She told Lady Mai she wanted to marry me when we were ten. Again when we were fourteen, sixteen and eighteen. She asked Azula to teach her how to lie so she could have an affair with me, but I refused to oblige. I wouldn't risk her reputation during such a sensitive time when she was engaged to Hisoki. I guess I am partly to blame for her current state of madness. I deprived her of myself thinking that she'd be better with that asshole because the Fire Sages said so. And I made her go back to the palace."

"So when did you start having babies. You must have started when you were young, considering Takeo isn't much younger than Iroh."

"We were twenty three. She came back from the Si Wong Desert after a year long search for Hisoki and needed to birth another heir. Our parents were desperate and she would not accept anybody except me-she threatened to reduce the nation to ash if they didn't accept. Well, not explicitly, but I could see fire in her eyes. It is hard to explain the change that happened that year she spent searcheding. But I vowed that I would live to see the day when Zumiya would come out again. I know she's in there… hibernating…" Masaru replied.

The tunnel began to slope upward again.

"We're here," Masaru said, pushing open the gate and emerging in a courtyard.

"Father! Remember this was where Iroh first taught us the dragon dance and we learned Kuto was an earthbender!" Takeo yelled pointing at a spot on the ground.

"And this was where I disarmed Uncle Sokka for the FIRST TIME EVER!" Sasuke yelled.

"I can't believe it has been only eight years since we've been home and yet it feels like a lifetime has passed in that palace," Rikuto sighed nostalgically as he ran his hand along the wall.

Masaru smiled at his oldest three sons, missing the other three dearly.

"Where did you put Yoko?" Masaru asked his sons.

"In her old room," Rikuto replied.

"Is Sunako still with her?"

"And Ursa," Rikuto replied.

 _Good._ He turned to Lin. "Let's find you a guest room. You are still recovering from what Kohaku did to you. Out of all of us, you need rest the most."

* * *

They followed Jinora's spirit through the tunnels to an open room void of any furniture or markings. The only thing in it was a pool of blood in the center of the floor.

"She was here!" I know it," Jinora said. "I can still feel her here."

"I can feel her heart beat now," Huifan said, turning around.

"But it feels like it's everywhere." Suyin added.

"That is because she IS everywhere… And so are we," Taemon's voice echoed throughout the chamber. The group went back to back and Jinora's spirit returned to its body so she could fight.

"Huifan, let me down!" Jinora called. The cables released the girl and they all stood around with their backs together, looking around.

Just then the door slammed shut and the walls collapsed and they were surrounded by more men dressed in all black with only their eyes shining in Izumi's fire light.

 _More of these fucking ghosts of the Rogue League?!_ Huifan thought as she tried to attack. Fire and earth came right at them, then a wave of water.

"There's too many!" Kya yelled as she and Huifan both took hold of the blood in their bodies, stilling them to give Izumi, Suyin and Jinora a break from defense.

"Can you bend earth and water at the same time?" Kya asked.

"No." Huifan replied.

"Do you know how to render one unconscious with bending?"

"Never tried. Never wanted to bloodbend again at the time." Huifan replied with shaking arms.

"Well you're going to have to try again. I'll walk you through it. It is the only way," Kya replied.

"Whatever you're planning, hurry!" Izumi growled through gritted teeth. Kya whispered in Huifan's ear and with a simultaneous push and pull, the prodigious young earthbender and her waterbending aunt subdued all of their assailants. She and her other aunt Su, then broke through the ceiling and lifted themselves out of the dark, empty room into daylight again. After their eyes adjusted, they realized they were surrounded below by an army of benders dressed in black.

"You guys have to get back," Izumi said.

"We're not leaving without you or Xiaoyu," Huifan argued.

"Don't argue, Huifan, I used to tie your shoes when I visited the Beifong Estate!" Izumi hissed.

"Dearest… Fire Lord… Izumi…" a smooth voice droned from across the grassy meadow and glassy the lake in the mountainous terrain of that Fire Island.

"Taemon!" Izumi growled, whirling around. They emerged on an earthen platform out of the center of the lake, Tatsuya bending the water around them effortlessly as if he had been bending water since he was an infant or something. More platforms with more of their soldiers emerged. "This is your last chance to stand down."

"Now why would I do that when defeating you hear would be too easy?" Taemon asked with w wicked grin that made Huifan want to scream. "You should be proud of what we've created and how resourceful we've been. It is incredible what one can achieve once one stops believing that he or she can only ever been one thing that their parents tell them to be. You should take your own advice sometimes, My Lord."

"He's baiting you, Zumi," Kya said, grabbing Izumi's wrist.

"They're coming closer- closing in," Suyin informed them.

"Of course I am baiting you. It was only too easy," Taemon confessed. He stomped on the ground and it spat Xiaoyu out, unconscious and bleeding.

"Xiaoyi!" Huifan leapt off their earthen platform and into the crowd, launching at least three dozen of Taemon's disciples into the air and away from her so she could run towards the form of her sister.

"Fa-Ni!" Suyin yelled, going after her. Tatsu jumped off his platform.

"You place far too much value in your family, when you should have concerned yourself more with the world." Taemon directed at Izumi. "You claim to be a freedom fighter, a champion of peace, but all you've done was oppress your populace into compliance using your beloved Amber League. With so many decades blindly following your orders, they have become numb- subhumans incapable of independent thought. Well, we've and set them free and together, we will set the rest of the world free from your tyranny."

"How can you possibly speak of freedom while you force them underground to train. Chain them for weeks without seeing the light of day?" Izumi challenged.

"You've done the same," replied the young man calmly. "We too know we must make sacrifices for the good of the masses. Face it, Fire Lord Izumi, your time is done. Your methods are outdated. You're philosophy is archaic. You're too slow and too afraid to accept what the future has in store for the Fire Nation. We will be stronger than any one has ever seen for we are no longer restricted to just being one thing!"

"You bastard," Huifan Huifan yelled, jumping over izumi, landing on the ground creating a fissure, a series of jagged rocks and an avalanche launching Taemon sixty feet into the air. Several of his acolytes attacked Huifan but she blocked them effortlessly with walls of earth and tried to flatten them, but they were covered by their earthbenders who smashed the walls to dirt. Taemon practically floated down.

Izumi looked around at Taemon's 'Army' gathered around. They were listening intently to the exchange, and their loyalty wavering. There were strength in numbers, sure, but that only held true when your enemy can be intimidated and your numbers still had faith. But when your soldiers are afraid… and ready to flee…

"I TRUSTED YOU! I trusted you with my heart and this whole time you were just playing me, trying to get me to cross over and join your Rogue Army?" Huifan asked, hurt.

"Guilty as charged. Honestly, dear, I thought you were smarter," Taemon replied, smirking.

"You're a traitor!" Huifan yelled, tears streaming down her face as the ground began to quake beneath her, sending some of Termon's 'soldiers' on the edges of the army, seizing the opportunity to flee.

"A savior. Your whole life you were told you could only be an earthbender, a metalbender. You were told it was impossible to bend platinum but you found a way. You were told blood was for waterbenders but you found a way. Your family has done nothing but place limitations and unreasonable expectations on you. They're hypocrites, and we've no longer any use for them or anyone over the age of fifty."

"Taemon, Hear me one last time," Izumi said warningly. "Every generation has believed the exact same thing, and every generation has been proven wrong by their parents. Stop this madness!"

"Why would I stop now that I am so close to reaching my goals? You raised us to stand up and right for what was right regardless of the sacrifice we must make. We could have so much power we could be such a great nation if you just stood up!"

"You want power? Is that it? You want the same thing that corrupted my aunt, my grandfather, great grandfather and great great grandfather beyond repair? You want the power that nearly DESTROYED our nation. That nearly DESTROYED THE WORLD? You think the adults are limiting? Well let me tell you something. My whole life I held back, for my reputation as princess. For my family, for my country! I held my tongue when foreign nations demanded I apologize for the crimes of my ancestors. I held back sparring against my children because I didn't want to discourage them. I didn't want YOU to feel what my father felt sparing his parents. I didn't want you to feel inept and worthless! In that, I have succeeded. But instead of not feeling worthless, you've become FAR too arrogant. You're about as self absorbed and confident as grandfather Ozai. Maybe I SHOULD unleash my full power on you! Maybe I SHOULD show YOU what I'm capable of! Maybe it will humble you!" Izumi mused.

"DO IT!" Taemon yelled.

"Suyin, Fa- Ni, get back," Izumi called. "This is my fight."

"But my sister," Huifan said.

"Have her," Taemon shrugged, stomping his foot into the ground with his hands behind his back, launching Xiaoyu into the air.

Huifan screamed. Kya bent a water tentacle to snatch the girl in the air and lower her gently onto their platform, to a place behind Izumi.

"Fa-Ni, back NOW!" Izumi yelled, making a pulling motion with her hand, summoning Huifan to her side by the metal in her armor.

"You can metal bend too?" Huifan asked, in shock at what just happened.

"Not Metal. Just the lightning to generate an artificial magnetic field. If you accept that true masters don't exist, and continue your studies, you too could find out what is true connectedness," Izumi explained, not once taking her eyes off of her wayward sons. She saw Huifan safely behind her and leapt off her platform, flying into the air with blue fire out of her feet and rained flames down on Taemon, Tetsu, and Tetsuya.

"I think it's time we pruned our family tree of the parasites that have infected it; what say you, Tetsu?" Tatsuya asked his twin with an ethereal sense of ease about him.

"Brother, I've been thinking the same thing," Tetsuya replied, reveling in their opportunity to execute the mission that they had spent a over a decade planning.

The three split the ring of fire, then Taemon and Tatsu bent streams of water after her. She danced, evading them and various attacks from their soldiers with ease.

Suyin earthbent steps for Izumi where she predicted the Fire Lord may land.

"Higher," Izumi yelled.

Suyin launched her up and she somersaulted through the air blasting fire down on them with such a force that they had to leap off of their platform and jump into the crowd as their platform was obliterated beneath the pressure and heat.

"You think you're so enlightened but you couldn't be more ignorant!" Izumi informed her astray children. "You don't need multiple elements. What you need is curiosity and open mindedness. There are two types of people in the world. Those who THINK they are masters. And those who are scientists. The scientists know mastery doesn't exists. They know no matter how much you train, no matter how much you learn, you could NEVER scratch the surface of all there is to know about our world. I was never trying to be restrictive, only realistic! You're dabbling in things you will never be able to understand fully with your current mentality. I'll show you true fire and true connection to all of the elements!"

Izumi landed on their battered platform and thrust her palms forward creating a blast of fire with three separate paths all twisting through the air like a waterbender could do with a stream. But fire typically only ran one track. How—

The three brothers dove as a large portion of their army dispersed to give them space, but not a single soldier came to their aid, excep…

"Stand down, Fire Lord Izumi," Huan ordered, holding Kya, Jinora, Xiaoyu, Huifan in the Air by their necks.

"But you didn't bother binding your mother?" Tatsuya asked, walking over to Suyin. With a sadistic grin.

"Need I remind you she's the Earth Queen? Even if she acts like an undefined commoner. The public surrender from both of them could benefit us greatly," Huan replied stone-faced, dyed green and black hair covering half his face.

Suyin cliched her heart. She was crying. A second son fallen from grace.

Izumi wanted to roll her eyes at the sheer ridiculousness of the Earth Queen's situation. _Why cry? I lost three sons in a day and you lost two over time with periods to adjust the void they left behind in their mother's heart._ Zumi put her fists together.

"I said STAND DOWN!" Huan yelled.

Izumi raised her hands in surrender. As she knelt, she tilted one palm to the sky not taking her eyes off of Huan and the boys. And when the second knee touched down, she fired. Rainbow fire shot up towards the sky and blue fire towards her three sons, one nephew, two sisters, and three nieces. Consuming all of them.

There were screams not just from her family but from the soldiers down below. So they haven't been broken like true members of the Amber League who wouldn't have flinched at the sight of someone possibly being burned alive.

When the smoke had cleared, her boys had been throne back. Huan was slightly singed on the arm and the side but was fine and the rest of the family unscathed.

Jinora was hyperventilating though. Xiaoyu has come to and pulled her favorite sister into her arms as Kya and Huifan stood over them, protectively looking at Izumi. The woman had just shot a face full of blue fire at them, and yet they incurred no burns and felt nothing but warmth. How was that possible?

Izumi was panting. Her robes were sweaty and uncomfortable. Her fury grew and her inner flame became unstable. Her hair streaked blue, flashed then faded to grey again.

Huan looked up, his face uncharacteristically contorted with fury.

"Think about touching them again and it won't just be harmless heat lapping at your body!" Izumi threatened, raising her hands again.

He backed away, but still didn't surrender.

"Let it out, Mother! Show us that _monster_ you harbor in your very being. Yes, we know about your inner fire and how it is what really rules this country. It has destroyed all that was pure and good in you, all that Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai strived to make. Let it out! Let it fight for you. You're weak and can't win without it!" Tetsuya tried to order his mother.

"I think your army men may disagree," Izumi said as some moved to hide behind Izumi now.

* * *

"That's the signal," Masaru said, hearing the thunder after the lightning. He looked out the window and saw the rainbow flames in the distance.

"It's where they are?" Lin asked.

"Yes. May I extend the offer to the older children?"

"Just not Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan," Tenzin asked.

"Of course. I agree that they're too young," Masaru said. He ran downstairs gathering the children in the courtyard.

"If you would like to fight, by all means come, but know that we still need some of you to stay, and protect the family," Masaru said.

"I will fight," Jiexue said, stepping up.

"Same," Ursa added.

"Our mother needs us; we're in," Wing and Wei joined.

"Let's go! Those long haired bastards won't know what hit 'em!" Rikuto exclaimed throwing his arms over Takeo and Sasuke.

"Actually, I'll stay," Sasuke said, removing his older brother's arm from his shoulders.

"Same. I can keep the kids distracted from what is happening," Jinkun informed them.

"I'll come, Uncle," Hungjian said quietly with one hand already on the handle of one of his hammers.

"We can take Sam and Juicy," Opal said, pulling out her bison whistle.

"Wait!" Miyoko yelled running out with Sunako following closely behind. "Let me fly ahead father! Please!"

"Yoko you nearly died! I am not going to let you fight!" Masaru said, holding her wrists.

"I was only asking as a courtesy to make you feel better about me going, but I've made up my mind. You cannot stop me," Miyoko replied, releasing her wrists from his large hands. She turned and blasted green fire out of her feet and fists and took off towards the sky.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Masaru bellowed at Sunako.

_**I tried. But she is ever her mother's daughter, with her will, strength and restraint. She knows what she is doing. She has known for a long time.** _

—

_**J** _

"YOKO! You should be home resting!" Izumi shrieked.

"Quiet, Mother, before you give yourself a nose bleed." Yoko muttered, bending an Earthen platform for herself to stand above all others. Taemon, Tetsu, and Tatsu smiled. "Brothers, sisters! Hear me speak. I too am a crossover sent to infiltrate the house of the Fire Lord. And in that I have succeeded!" There were cheers from a large part of the crowd. "My handler, Tetsuya Lee inspired me to join this cause, this fight for freedom! He fed me tales of the magnificent world we could create if we rose up against the old and allowed ourselves to be reborn into a free world!" Spoken like a true politician, Izumi thought of her dissident of a daughter. Her sons were beaming. "But those are all lies. Taemon Yamakatsu and Tetsuya Lee do not believe in freedom. They do not seeks not freedom but power. Their minds our bound shut buy this skewed sense of duty and obligation to free what was never not free in the first place.

"Most of you were taken from your homes as children and seared down to what they claim is your raw potential. You serve because you are afraid of their bending. They do nothing but intimidate, and when that doesn't work, they maim or murder their enemies. My own guard when I was twelve years old, Taemon Yamakatsu ordered killed if she would not allow them to take me from my bed that night, but when she couldn't be killed he ordered her silenced. He had his henchmen brutally lop off both hands and gorge her tongue out, singing the flesh closed, melting the open wounds.

"Their orders were the same in every one of _**your**_ cases. Kill the parents. Take the child. Let there be no bloodshed. You ALL remember it. You will find no protection if you serve Taemon Yamakatsu.

"But you will find protection under Fire Lord Izumi. Think of your childhood. Your parents you've been torn away from. Think of their grief when you go to school and how they must feel after years without a scrap of news! Now think if you had a child; would you like them to die on this very battlefield today? If you ever wondered how much Taemon Yamakatsu valued your life just look at what you're wearing. If he cared, he wouldn't have dressed you as if you ALREADY had one foot in the grave. Now stand down, or you won't walk away from today."

"The Fire Lord doesn't care about our lives!" One soldier had the audacity to say. Miyoko turned to him, her long dark hair and long red skirt swirling around her.

"Really? Then why, though you're so intent on killing her and I'm sure you've tried, has she ignored you? She can destroy anyone she wants in a heartbeat and still be the Fire Lord, but she hasn't. She has ignored you. Gone straight for your leaders because she knows you are not responsible for this insanity. No one would be foolish enough to challenge her on his or her own accord!"

There were murmurs and motions. Some people stopped fighting and some tried to move away.

There was a grumble and a roar from the pair of skybison as they passed overhead, their riders leaping from the saddle in a grand entrance. The ground cracked with the landing of each earthbender, the grass scorched by that of each fire bender, and the crowd split when Jiexue cleared space for herself with her glider.

Masaru came last and looked up at Miyoko standing above everybody. What had she done?

"Acolytes, don't mind the bloodshed. FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT!" Taemon yelled. Only a fraction obeyed, but that fraction was enough to send the field into chaos. Some of the Rogue League speared through their own former training mates in a desperate attempt to get to the members of the family they were fighting.

It was maddening to Izumi. She couldn't focus on anything. Her eyes were split trying to keep track of all of her children. She could monitor three easily, especially when they were all fighting her at the same time, but now, there were too many. Her need to protect them all, became debilitating, and she fell to her knees, covering her ears tying in vain to drown them all out. She reached for their nervous system. She reached to feel for their senses. Their brains. Their signalling. She didn't need contact to use her dark lightning anymore. She understood everything was connected. She had understood for a while. It is only with the heart that one sees rightly. What is essential is blind to the eye…[1]

"Zumi-" Masaru ran towards her, but but Taemon blocked his way, smashing a crater into the earth with an air sphere. Masaru shielded his eyes from the dust and wind that pelted his face mercilessly. Taemon snatched up the fragments and compressed them into stones to fill his avatar sphere, ignoring his foster father's presence, then he flew to the lake in the mountains where they were and added water. And finally he added a ring of fire. Masaru couldn't believe his eyes. That little orphan boy managed to unlock all of his chakras, tap into all of the elements, and fly. No glowing eyes. Nothing. All he was doing was on his own accord.

Izumi's fire kept flashing through her hair, ready to burst.

"Zumi," Masaru's hair turned red and one of his dragons slithered from the tip of his hand, through the crowd to the Fire Lord. It looked up at her, full with hope and touched its nose to her forehead as she crouched down, fighting her own demons. "You're ready to let go. Trust yourself," it said.

Taemon looked over to Izumi and spotted the dragon. What in spirits name- He searched the crowd then saw Masaru standing there with his eyes focused on the Fire Lord, a scowl accentuating his sharp features. His hair, burning redder than Izumi's was blue when she raged. _NO! He can do it too?_ The dragon vanished and Masaru's hair returned to its normal color.

Izumi stood up and turned to Taemon in the avatar sphere. She flung her arms over her head and yanked off her ceremonial armor then pulled the cord off from around her waist and shed her robes. She bent forward and using lightning, sliced the laces of her corset clean off and shrugged that off as well, leaving only her bindings. She looked up to the sky and flew, blasting herself up into the air. She turned as she rose, generating fire in all colors. It was the fire of life that the dragons showed all of those they deemed worthy of learning some of the secrets of bending. She made her own protective sphere out of the flames and then broke open a hole for her face and pointed two fingers at Taemon's, shooting lightning and fire simultaneously shooting fire and lightning from the same hand, another feat never before done by a firebender.

Taemon flew away to evade the strike and the lightning and fire vaporized a noticeable volume of water from the lake, striking the lake floor with such a force that it shook the entire fire Island, bringing whole sections of the army and the family to fall from the shaking.

Izumi added lightning to her rainbow fire making it appear like a burning hairball of sorts spat out by a dragon cat as she pursued Taemon into the sky.

"Answer me seriously, Taemon," she said after they stopped a good distance away from the heat of the battle. "Why make such a half-ass attempt to bend the other elements when you could truly master fire instead?"

"Answer me, Fire Lord Izumi. Why refrain from unleashing your fire on your enemies? Why drag this on? You could be so much stronger if you weren't so afraid, of empowering your the citizens of your country. The nation could be so much stronger. But you don't want a formidable nation, do you? You just want a placid one that you can control. Power is wasted on you!"

"That is where your understanding is lacking. The Fire Nation is NOT weak and there is nothing wrong with peace and prosperity. Power does not come from one's strength but his restraint." Izumi bent her rainbow fire shield off of herself and enclosed Taemon's avatar sphere, shrinking it until he could no longer sustain it. The stones he collected fell from the sky, the water he bent vaporized. When Izumi was sure shed smothered the ring of flames he maintained inside, she flew into the shield at full speed, grabbing his body out of the sky and flying at full speed back to the battlefield where everyone could see. She slammed him into the earth so hard she created another crater and then rolled to the side as he got up with an uneasy groan and a bruise on his spine.

"How can you speak of strength in restraint when you torture your subjects just to test their loyalty?" Taemon asked.

Izumi drew a breath and charged at Taemon, reaching him too fast for him to bend anything and delivered a back kick to his jaw. He sent a hook to her face, but she blocked it with her forearm. He ducked to avoid another kick to his head and swept her feet out from under her. She landed on her hands and sprung back, landing upright again like a gymnast. She twisted to avoid another leg, another fist then dove under his stance and planted a hand on his back and sent electricity coursing through his body. He screamed as he pain overwhelmed his senses and slumped to the ground.

She faced Taemon, the palm of her right hand open and aimed at the ground. "You're right. Why draw this out? I'm tired Taemon, and you are not my enemy. You are my son, so I will give you options. I can kill you now through the ground or through the air. I don't need contact or bending for either. I can control the charge on every node of every nervous cell in your body. I can force every muscle fiber to contract or relax on a whim. I can do anything I wanted to do to you from here, and halt your sensory nerves from letting you feel a thing. Or, I could make you hurt. Which would you prefer?" Izumi asked with an open hand. "I may not be an earthbender with seismic sense, but with that, I can sense your presence. If you truly understood the the interconnectedness of the elements, then you would have seen that I can do more than anybody on this planet. You would have never challenged me."

Izumi lifted her hand to strike Taemon but fell still. Both Tetsuya and Tatsuya had lifted a hand towards her, Tatsuya trying to bend the blood right out of her body, trying to tear her veins, to kill her. Tetsuya had struck her with lightning. At the same time, the two attacks had stilled her, and Taemon's hand had tried to bloodbend her back. Izumi grunted from the pain.

 _How is she holding herself in?_ Tatsuya thought, unable to break her veins.

Izumi's hair turned blue as she remained unable to move. She strained, and then a spark flickered on the tip of her finger. Her eyes reached it and it left and entered the ground. At once, the four of them began screaming. The twins and Taemon both fell to their knees, a strange purple lightning bursting out of the ground to cause them pain and overwhelm their senses.

"If you are still not convinced how USELESS this all is…if you truly want to see the extent of my power, I will grant you a viewing!" Izumi said as she dropped to one knee and planted a hand on the ground. A pulse of heat hit everybody, knocking down friends and foes alike like dominoes. Tatsuya tried to strike again with a stream of water or bloodbending but another pulse vaporized the water and distorted the chi he channeled to take control of the blood in his mother's body.

The ground turned red as it became superheated by the Fire Lord's inner flames. Red flames erupted from her hand and the ground around her. As it became hotter, it turned yellow, then green, then white, then blue, engulfing her body. She opened her eyes in concentration, staring down at her hand She blinked away a tear as she concentrated. Taemon, Tetsu, and Tatsu tried again to strike her through her fire, but their water, fire and earth all disintegrated before even coming close to her body. Another pulse of heat knocked them off their feet again. People began moving away, shielding their eyes from the rising light. Izumi's hair came alight with the flames and flew away from her face. She held her position.

Taemon tried to shoot her with lightning, but it simply became absorbed by the flames, amplified, and shot towards the sky in an unbelievably beautiful but terrifying display. Soon the flames were licking the edge of the clearing, boiling the lake and lapping at the branches of the trees. But the trees did not catch flame. Why?

 _The wise stand back from the fire, fools are burned on the pyre; The mystic becomes one with the flame, the embers and he are the same[2]._ Izumi recited to herself. She looked up at Taemon, then glanced sideways at her twin sons. How many chances should she give? As a Fire Lord, none to these traitors, but as a mother, more than they deserve. The stern concentration on her face gave way to sadness as she looked back to Taemon. "This… is your last chance…" she mouthed, her heart breaking.

And at once, the three glanced to each other and moved to strike her. The Fire Lord's Flames absorbed their attacks and roared higher. Izumi stood, and so did it, taking the shape of her, towering over the mountain peak, glaring down upon the battlefield at the mortals below.

"I don't understand! Is it a spirit?" Jiexue asked, gaping at it.

"Spirits aren't made of fire," Jinora replied, eyes wide.

"But- she is not bending it," Miyoko gasped, her brows furrowed with incredulity.

"It _is_ her," Takeo thought aloud as the fire smoothed over into the form of a woman.

Tetsuya earthbent a tent to try to pull Izumi into the ground. She didn't even scream. The flaming manifestation of her energy took a knee, plunging its fist into the ground, scooping its- master? - out, lifting her up into the sky, letting the fragments of earth fall to the ground.

"Don't fear it. It won't burn you unless I ask it to," Izumi's voice came through distorted by her inner fire. The giant blue figure stepped forward directly on top of a group of Taemon's 'soldiers', reaching for Tetsu and Tatsuya. The soldiers screamed and braced themselves for death, but none came. They were inside some warm, cloud of energy, looking through a blue haze that was the fire. They looked up at the flames above.

Tetsuya and Tatsuya created protective spheres of their own red fires as they were scooped out of the crowd. "Huifan, can you prepare a platinum cable? To bind them?" Izumi asked, yelling down with her normal voice to her niece below. She nodded and bent both cables out of their cartridges fixed to the belt on her waist. The Fire Lord's flames knelt and dropped the twins in the waiting cables while the world watched in silence. Izumi flew out of the flames and landed on her feet gracefully, walking forward to her immobilized sons. "Tetsuya, Tatsuya. Know that no matter what happens, I will always love you as my sons and that I am sorry that it wasn't enough to satisfy you. You're right, you know. You're right that I need to put my nation first. Though I gave you both life and bending, I need to take both away" Izumi slid one foot forward and planted a hand on both of their heads.

_To bend another's energy, you own spirit must be unbendable or you will be corrupted and destroyed.[3]_

The twins started screaming, but Izumi did not falter. Taemon tried to save them, but Izumi's inner fire intervened, stepping forward and absorbing the flames and lightning he sent their way.

"Eugh!" Tetsuya groaned as his mother let go.

"You didn't kill us! Why?" Tatsuya asked, crying, terrified, feeling cold for the first time in his life.

"Because you are my sons. You have my blood. You are a part of me and killing you would be like chopping a limb off of my own body," Izumi replied. "And that I can never do". She turned to Taemon.

"Then what will become of him?" Tetsuya asked his brother fearfully as Izumi approached Taemon, her inner fire standing by behind.

Taemon raised a defiant hand and tried to bloodbend her again but she zapped the ground and he screamed rolling over in a desperate attempt to escape the pain that coursed through his veins.

"I would you like to hear a story, Taemon?"

"Is this really the time?"

"it's now or never. When I was sixteen years old, I thought I'd become a Yamakatsu. Not even an Ibonara. Kage was so kind to me, acknowledged that I was more than just a princess. I was a flame. I was a blade. I was a soldier and not just a title or a name. But one day, your beloved father saw me having tea with Masaru at my mother's invitation. He became jealous. Gathered some of his comrades to stalk my best friend on his way home from his secondary school to teach him a lesson. The great Kage Yamakatsu beat and gangraped my best friend, Masaru, left him with a dented head, six fractured ribs a punctured lung, dislocated jaw, broken arm and leg and an ass that had been shredded by dry penetration. He tried to make my beloved believe he wasn't worthy of a Princess."

"Why are you telling me this?" Taemon asked, starting to feel fatigued in the aftermath of the battle, starting to see defeat…

"So you know just how hard it was for me to accept you into my home. Takeo and Masaru both begged me keep you after P'li blew up your mother and father. 'A boy cannot be held accountable for the crimes of his father.' I'll be honest. I wanted to celebrate his death and thank that combustion bender, even pardon her of her crimes for ridding the world of that monster. But you were just a child and I couldn't bring myself to indulge in such celebration of death. I had hoped I could save you from madness. I made extra effort to answer your every question to the best of my ability. Of all of my children, you were most like Saru and me, or so I believed. You were the most curious little thing, the most receptive to our teachings. You never argued but questioned everything we did. You didn't care for gender roles at the time; you were soft, kind and selfless. I thought we had succeeded," Izumi laughed. "I thought we had broken the chain and raised a Yamakatsu as a Lee, but even in death, those words your father wrote in his diary were enough to steer you down this path of strategic cruelty. You're the one who lacks morals, who is weak. Your desire to please the man who used you as a showpiece even in his death is as fruitless as my father's frivolous search for the Avatar in his teens. But despite everything, I have come to love you as a son. Even though your father's perverted nature has managed to corrupt you, I know you're capable of great good and change. I would have listened to anything you had to say about how I run this country just as I listen to Yoko and her little band of dissidents. Tell me, Taemon. Does the boy that I've come to know and love as my own still live within you? Because he, I can forgive for being frightened and misguided by those writings his father left for him in his will. But the madman that kneels before me cannot be shown any mercy for what he's done."

Taemon was crying. He dug his nails into the dirt and pulled the water from the grass. And in an instant, chucked a large rock from the side, towards Izumi's head.

She was too distracted waiting for an answer to react. He inner fire too far to decimate the rock and it hit her head. She fell to the ground, unconscious but still nobody moved except the Fire Lord's Flames. It flew across the clearing, boiling the lake as it passed in an effort to keep Taemon from getting away. It dove past its master and pinned Taemon to the ground by the electricity in his nerves. It touched its index finger of its right hand to Taemon's head and that of its left to his chest. Taemon screamed. The Fire Lord's Flames had gone ahead and taken his bending so he couldn't get away.

It then looked at its host and slumped a little in its magnificent stature, as if sad. It scooped up the Fire Lord's limp form and looked around, searching for something or someone it could trust. Masaru flew up to its level.

"Zumi-" he said.

But the Fire Lord's Flames walked away, through the channel between the islands to the mainland, marched over the villages leaving everyone unscathed until it reached the Earthen Fire Estate.

* * *

Sunako was on the balcony, watching with Tenzin as it approached. It laid Izumi on the balcony at Sunako's feet.

 _ **What am I supposed to do?**_ She asked, looking up at the Fire Lord's Flames.

"Help me," it said.

Sunako turned to Tenzin who shrugged. She bent down.

 _ **She's burning—**_ Sunako wrote to Tenzin. _**Can you get ice or something? Have Lu and Yen help you.**_

Sunako bent water to the Fire Lord's Head only for it to be vaporized. She looked up at the giant flaming figure watching closely, waiting.

 _ **I don't understand!**_ Sunako said. Masaru arrived. He knelt opposite Sunako. _**Sir, What is this?**_ She asked, motioning to the waiting fire. _**What happened?**_

"It was just a rock to the head, I don't know why her inner fire panicked—" Masaru replied.

 **Her— inner fire? That's what that is?**  
  
"It's complicated. I'll cool her down then can you assess the damage, and heal her?" Masaru asked.

Sunako nodded.

Masaru's hair turned as red as Izumi's was blue and he planted both palms on her flat abdomen. Sunako readied more water.

 **There's just some bleeding between the scalp and skull. Brain was jostled but not damaged... it should be a quick and easy fix—... there...**  
  
Masaru felt her head. "She's still not waking."

 _ **But everything— her vitals are fine!**_ Sunako replied, frantically checking again.

"If you are confident her vitals are fine, then don't worry. She is just resting." Sunako eyed Masaru skeptically. He sighed. "Can you watch her? I have to get back to the battlefield— to the others."

 _ **Is the battle over?**_ Sunako asked.

"I hope so," Masaru replied jumping off the balcony, flying back to the war torn island.

The flaming figure bent down and looked at Izumi with its featureless face then it looked down at the ground. Sunako looked too. A crowd had gathered after seeing this behemoth march through the water from across the archipelago and over the mainland without disturbing anything. They touched it and felt warmth without pain. It looked down. Decided there was no more threat, and vanished with the next gust of wind.

Sunako turned to the Fire Lord lying motionless on the balcony. She whimpered and tensed as her hair flared a white blue, then she fell still again. Her hair darkened to a deeper blue but didn't return to grey. Sunako extended a nub towards her body but flinched away. She was still burning.

"She'll be okay," Lin Beifong said, joining Sunako on the balcony. She had brought a length of cable to carry Izumi inside. "Tenzin's readied an ice bath and is soaking some blankets. Lord Zuko says they help accelerate the healing. She'll likely be out for a few days."

 _ **What do we say to the people?**_ Sunako wrote, still looking at the growing crowd forming outside the Earthen Fire Estate.

"Nothing. They can wait," Lin replied. She looped some cables around Izumi's body and without touching the cables, carried Izumi into hers and Masaru's master bedroom at the estate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1]Antoine Saint-Éxupery, The Little Prince
> 
> [2]Tim Hendrick (?), Voltron: Legendary Defender S05E06 White Lion
> 
> [3]Aaron Ehasz, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Avatar: The Last Airbender S03E21 Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang


	22. Waking Up

She woke up alone like so many times before with a dull pounding in her head; the memory of her ward crying playing just behind her eyes. Izumi found a freezing blanket saturated with ice water draped over her body. Throwing it off in annoyance, she found that she had been stripped of the remains of her clothing and left naked on her bed. _So I did explode_ , she thought as a lock of dull blue hair fell by her face. It wasn't just a dream. She used her inner fire in battle against her own sons, of all people, and then she took their bending.

_All I do, I do for the good of the Fire Nation and the good of the world._ Izumi told herself. _They were a threat. Even if they were family, I had to do it, for peace._ She passed her fingers through her dimming hair as she willed herself to calm down. But it didn't last. The flames returned and for the first time ever they burned her hand. _Stop fighting,_ a voice told her. _Give in to the fire. Don't fight who you were meant to be. Become one with the pyre. Everyone has already seen your power and your willingness to use it. There is no point hiding._

Izumi looked down at her bare torso and prodded where her lower ribs normally bruised under the pressure of the corsets. There was nothing there; she must have been out and under those blankets for at least a few days. One thing was certain, however: they had crushed Taemon's rebellion. If he had won, she had no doubt she would have been deposed of almost immediately instead of being allowed to heal safely from the comfort of her room.

Izumi shivered, clutching her burnt hand as she watched the water from the blanket steam off of her burning skin. Who had taken over as regent while she was indisposed? What became of her children, and all those conscripted to Taemon and Tetsu's army? What became of her nieces and nephews who fought by her side to stop their own cousins from watering the fields on the island with the blood of their own family? She had to find out quickly, but jumping back into her former position so soon would prove disastrous for all parties affected by the recent string of events.

Izumi made her way to the washroom where she found the tub of ice water standing with another blanket dunked inside, ready for the next change. She shoved her burned hand into the bath and hissed from the burning sensation provided by freezing cubes.

Her Fire Lord robes were gone, ceremonial armor and all. _Burnt to a crisp, the ashes scattered to the wind_ , she thought as she reached for a new outfit manufactured by her fiance's company. Like Huifan's clothing, it was made from that same tear-proof, flame resistant, and moisture wicking fabric that Masaru developed after the siege of Republic City.

It was a new style for Izumi, one that combined the classical, elegant, long robes that her mother once wore with a more practical, streamlined design that would enable Izumi to fight at a moment's notice. It had the strength of a suit of armor with the weight of a night gown. Izumi wrapped her chest then pulled on a dark, almost purplish red leotard followed by a pair of deep burgundy pants that fit tightly against her legs. She pulled on new boots that came up to her knees.

Next were a pair of leather gauntlets armed with three dozen stilettos and a leather band for her upper arms each with two dozen throwing knives. Lightning and fire had always been her forte, though she preferred to have a few blades handy just in case. Over the blades, she tugged on her coat which was short in the front and long in the back, coming down just past the middle of her calves. It secured around her waist with a single buckle bearing the emblem of the Royal Fire Family.

Izumi trimmed her nails, filed them over and smoothed the rough edges to pass the time until someone came for her. She didn't want to get yelled at for wandering if a healer had ordered her remain on bedrest while she was asleep. She considered sneaking a peek out the window, but she didn't know how many people had seen her inner fire. She had been so focused on Taemon, Tetsuya, and Tatsuya that she barely even noticed anything else that day. She did remembered feeling sick to her stomach the entire time, wondering where she went wrong as a mother, for them to feel so dissatisfied to the point that they believed the world would be better off without the Fire Lord.

She was sitting on the bed, wallowing in regrets with her hands nested in one another on her lap when someone finally came in. Soft, measured footsteps-it could only be Iliana. Izumi looked up at her with an expression of guilt and pain. Without a word, Iliana wrapped her arms around the Fire Lord and embraced her in a bosomful hug. "How are you feeling, little Zumi?" Iliana asked with tears filling the corner of her eyes.

"Tired," Izumi replied, her voice small and weak.

"Naturally," Iliana smiled, petting the Fire Lord's hair as if she were a child. "Your inner fire does that to you. Drain your chi. Kya didn't think you'd wake, but Sunako knew you weren't so easily defeated. Now, let me take a look at you." Iliana released the Fire Lord from the embrace. Iliana cupped her face before lifting both arms up, peering into her sleeves and quickly sweeping her gaze over the rest of the Fire Lord's body. "You do look like you're okay, and your temperature has cooled a bit. You're still warm, but Saru says that's normal." Iliana expressed gratefully. "But what happened to your clothes?" she asked in the slightly condescending tone she used when Izumi was just a young, strong-willed, wily little girl.

"I burned them," Izumi responded, hanging her head and feigning guilt like a child who tossed her vegetables. "Reduced them to ash and let them fly away with the wind. I never want to see anything like them again."

"But do you really think you can appear like this?" Iliana asked, inspecting Izumi's new choice of clothes. Her boots had a small, two inch heel and came up past her knees with a protective steel layer and padding. Her pants were the color of a deep wine and laid snugly against her skin, showing every curve of the Fire Lord's long, slender legs. Her shirt was a slightly lighter shade and was equally form-fitting around her unbound torso, but boasted sleeves that were long and wide enough for three dozen knives and two dozen stilettos. Over it, she wore a slim vest that clasped in the middle of her torso just under her breasts, reminding Iliana of Fire Lady Mai's own choice of clothing.

"For running," Izumi explained, standing and turning to show Iliana the length in the back that resembled a cape from the waist.

"I understand the functionality, my Lord. It just- even though you are completely covered, it shows so much!"

Izumi shrugged and folded one arm over her chest, grasping the opposite elbow nervously. "Everyone has a body. What difference does it make if we show it or not? We've all the same parts."

Iliana smiled and didn't argue. "May I make a confession?"

"Of course," Izumi replied.

"Ever since I started dressing you when you were seven years old, I hated doing it. Every morning, I hated seeing you cry no matter what your mother said, no matter how necessary she made it seem. And I could not be more proud of you for finally breaking free, Little Zumi," Iliana said lifting a hand to Izumi's cheek. The Fire Lord leaned into it and smiled as a tear escaped her eye. "I love you, little Zumi, I hope you know that."

"I do," Izumi replied as they both lowered their hands. "I love you too, Iliana. Thank you for remaining by my side, through everything. For getting me up in the mornings and constantly reminding me that I was still needed by people."

"Thank you for serving," Iliana replied. "Now, you must be hungry, shall we go?"

"How long have I been sleeping?" Izumi asked.

"Only three days."

"And my sons?"

"Awaiting trial in the capital prison."

"Who has become regent in my absence?"

"Your father for the first half of the day and Kei Lo for the latter."

"I didn't know such joint rulership was allowed. I thought the job was a full time gig," Izumi responded, surprised.

Iliana laughed. "No matter how much you've learned, there is still so much you don't know," Iliana sighed.

"You couldn't be more right," Izumi replied, following Iliana directly to the kitchens, fortunately passing no guards.

"Has Saru been by lately?" Izumi asked once she had been seated in the stone dungeon-like kitchens with a bowl of rice and egg, and on the side, a raspberry cream puff pastry, her favorite ever since she was tall enough to reach the dessert table.

"Yes. He visits as often as he can but has been incredibly busy dealing with the displaced crossovers. You'll be pleased to hear that ALL of the missing children have been accounted for during the first sweep of those tunnels the Rogues used," Iliana said, sitting across from Izumi.

"What made you think that would please me?" Izumi asked, not wanting to think about what the children must have endured in training.

"They're no longer missing. Most can go back to their families now. Only some-"

"-don't have families to go back to," Izumi finished for Iliana. She pushed her bowl away and placed her elbows on the table, head in her hands with grief.

"My Lord, if you don't finish your breakfast, I'm going to lock you in your room with it and won't let you out until you've finished. How will you be able to do your duty from in there, Hm?" Iliana threatened.

"I've granted you far too much power over my eating," Izumi growled, taking the bowl back reluctantly.

"I'm leaving Lu and Yen stationed by the entrance to the kitchens if you want to leave before I return. I'm going to tell Saru you've finally risen in case he needs your approval for something," Iliana informed the Fire Lord.

"Thank you, Iliana," Izumi replied gratefully.

"Make sure she eats," Iliana whispered rather loudly to the two guards who used to be captains of the guard at Masaru's Earthen Fire Estate. _What were they doing in the palace?_ Izumi wondered.

Izumi examined their post, her breakfast bowl, then the rest of the kitchen. There was a second exit, the servants exit. It was usually unmanned. She wanted to find out what was going on, but she didn't want to have to talk to anybody or draw attention to herself with escorts. She just wanted to observe. She took off her crown and redid her hair. She tied two braids and curled them into a bun at the base of her neck, a lock too loose hung in front of the left side of her face, but she didn't bother pinning it. She finished her breakfast then slipped out the back.

She remembered the days when she crawled through the vents, escaping her guards when she was a girl, getting into all sorts of trouble with Saru. She remembered the insane missions that Aunt Azula sent her on, selling fake artefacts on pirate ships among other absurd things. She heard the voices of a pair of imperial firebending guards and ducked behind a pillar, waiting until they passed and rounded a corner.

She made a mental note to pair every firebending guard with an earthbending guard in the palace, if they had enough available. With only firebending guards, it was far too easy to get around unnoticed. No wonder her boys were able to execute their little mission without anyone suspecting anything for over a decade.

"If you're trying to hide, from someone, you're not doing a very good job of it," a small, high pitched, and highly unamused voice said from behind Izumi. She turned and looked down to come face to face with a small boy wearing a very basic red robe. "Do you live here?" he asked her curtly when he saw her surprised expression.

"Yes," she replied, not used to not being recognized after being Fire Lord for so long. But this was a child. He wouldn't learn her face until he went to school. "Do you?" She asked him back.

"For now. My parents are from the island of Quanzhang. It will take them at least a week to come get me," the young boy replied.

"What are you doing hiding in the palace?" Izumi asked.

"The Mister Masaru Lee said we can have this section of the Palace while we're here. We're playing hide and seek," He said.

"How old are you?"

"Eight."

"And-"

"You can't hide forever, RUYU!" a girl called from down the hall. The boy grabbed Izumi's hand and yanked her behind the pillar with him.

"I see him, Jaini," another girl said, running forward stopping by their pillar. "You always did fail trying to disguise your presence with seismic sense!" the girl laughed before noticing Izumi standing in front of the boy. She stepped back, unable to tear her eyes away from Izumi's face and clothing.

"Liya, what is-" the other girl paused when she saw Izumi as well.

"What are you staring at?" Izumi asked. "Or do you recognize me?"

"It's just your clothes. They're cool," the first girl, Liya, said with a shrug, trying to hide her obvious envy. Izumi let out a sigh of relief.

"Why would we recognize you?" the first girl asked.

"You- neverming. Forget I ever said that," Izumi replied.

"Can I ask where you got your costume?" Liya asked.

"My- My friend made it for me," Izumi replied.

"Can you come with us to the barracks? I want to draw it so that once I get back home I can ask our in house seamstress to make one like it."

"Um-" Izumi paused. _Was it really that nice?_

"Stupid rich kid," the boy, Ruyu mumbled behind Izumi.

"We don't even know who she is! What if we can't trust her in the barracks?" Jaini asked.

"She is wandering the palace, not in chains. She MUST be safe!" Liya replied, taking Izumi's hand.

_Taemon and the twins wandered the palace not in chains, and they nearly destroyed everything that it stood for._ Izumi thought to herself.

"I see the others," the Liya said, running ahead. "Found you- and you- and you!" More children emerged from various crevices, inside of vases and holes in the wall. Liya stomped her foot and earthbent a pillar beneath herself and punched a hole in the wall of the palace. "Got you too Duyen!"

"I hate it when it's Liya's turn to be seeker," Duyen mumbled as he climbed out of the wall and restored with earthbending.

"Are you earthbenders?" Izumi asked.

"We're crossovers!" Liya beamed, turning and bending a ring of fire around her body before placing her fists on her hips.

"You and Duyen are!" Ruyu corrected her.

"You could be too if you weren't so damn close minded! If you only listened to Master Taemon-"

"Taemon was a monster-" Ruyu argued.

"He was a savior!-" Liya insisted.

"He was defeated, if you didn't know," Izumi interjected.

"What?" Jaini gasped.

"By who?" Liya demanded. "I'll kill him!"

"And I am sure you would have a much easier time doing so than Taemon," Izumi responded sarcastically. Liya took a step back.

"So who are you? Are you one of our caretakers?" Duyen asked.

"Caretakers?" Izumi asked.

"A member of the 'proper' Amber League?" Liya clarified, rolling her eyes like a young Yoko.

"I myself am not a member of the Amber League, but like you, I am one of its charges. However in a different capacity, I do try to take care of you, the best I can," Izumi answered.

She wanted to apologize to them for not coming sooner, for not investigating the multitude of kidnappings in the outer isles sooner, and for letting things get so out of hand. The young children seemed unaffected in the immediate aftermath, but she had a feeling that it was simply a facade. She considered offering her dark lightning as a way to make them forget their traumas, but forgetting— wasn't always the best thing.

" _Mother! It was Taemon and Tetsu! Mother, Sunako is innocent. It wasn't her! It wasn't! STOP!" Young Yoko screamed at the top of her little lungs as she fought her mother's grip._

Izumi didn't believe her, when she knew the truth. If she had listened to her own daughter and investigated Taemon and the twins, the last six years could have been avoided. Izumi grimaced as the realization swept over her.

"Are you alright?" the little boy asked.

"Just tired. There's a lot of work to be done behind the scenes."

"What kind of work? Experiments?"

"Are we your guinea pigs, now fire woman?"

"What? No! Work like returning you back to your families and-"

"What if we don't want to go back to our families?"

"What if we want to stay?"

"To fight?"

"What is there to fight for those so young?" Izumi asked, appalled why they wouldn't want to go back after being kidnapped.

"Freedom from limits."

"And freedom from discrimination."

"To not be deemed a monstrosity simply for being a half-breed."

Before Izumi could argue, she heard the crashing of a suit of armor being thrown from its platform.

"I will not leave him!"

"Miss, you must if your father-"

"My father can go suck his own dick! I don't want him to take me back. He never loved me to begin with! Nikita did, and if my father won't let me keep all that I have left of him, then I AM leaving just like I did years ago, on my OWN accord. I wasn't kidnapped! I wanted to fight! I wanted justice."

"If what you say about your father is true, we could file a separate claim to-"

"Have him charged with abuse? I tried! THREE TIMES, I tried, and nothing changed. The state failed. You failed! You may not have learned, but I have. The individual can rely on nobody but themselves to find safety!" a young woman yelled.

"You will have justice, but please, can we discuss this in private with your parents? I assure you the state is on your side! The Fire Lord _does_ value the children of the nation above all because they are our future!" the member of the Amber League replied.

There was a terse sigh. "Fine," the young woman's voice grunted.

"Excuse me, children," Izumi said after the door had closed. She took several side corridors then found the entrance to one of the many secret passageways that twisted through the palace, and climbed into a large ventilation shaft that bent over the room.

"We will not take the baby!" the parents said.

"You don't have a choice unless the state lets me leave you! He's all I have left of Nikita and I will not leave him!"

"Who is Nikita?" the father asked.

"He was my only comfort in your hell. He is the only reason I didn't kill myself years ago!"

"Did he force himself upon you?"

"Of course not!"

"Did anybody?"

"No! I would have killed them with fire and ice," the girl, replied bending water out of Sunako's sleeve and into a spear slamming it into the table where they sat. Then she flicked her wrist and vaporized it with a red and orange fire. "Nikita saved me. He showed me what I was." she said sustaining the blaze on the table with her eyes even after the ice had dissipated. "-the future."

"You're just a monster—"

"Just because I am just stronger now than you will ever be does not make me a monster!"

"What you can do is unnatural!"

"So what if it is? Maybe the Rogues were right! Maybe you old people are too close-minded to understand that this is where we are heading. You're blind to the change that is happening RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES!"

"Insolent girl! You are not the daughter we lost eight years ago! They've gone and killed her and replaced her with this thing! Come on let's go-I can't stand to be here any longer."

"Ma'am, Sir, your daughter is only seventeen. She is a legal minor and cannot be legally independent until-" Genkei reminded the parents.

"Then send her to an orphanage! Send her and the little shit in her arms!" the father spat.

_**I am afraid that isn't an option. An analysis of your home and socioeconomic standings show that you are financially capable of housing and feeding both for another year until she is of age. Thrusting her and her daughter upon the state because you're afraid of what she is illegal and can result in lifetime imprisonment for abandonment of a minor, in which case she would automatically inherit all of your assets with which she may do as she pleases,**_ Sunako wrote on her parchment.

The father growled and the mother harrumphed.

_**Taoyin will return to live with you for the next few months until she is eighteen. You will feed her and house her and she will find a job while you watch the baby. You don't have to amicable but at least cordial. You are only legally responsible for any crimes she commits or debts she incurs in the next few months. IF either party violates these conditions, then other arrangements can be made. The League will be watching very closely.** _

"But where will I work? I joined the Rogue League willingly. Doesn't that brand me a traitor?"

"I was born in the Swamp but now serve the Fire Lord. Does that brand me a traitor to the Earth Kingdom?"

" _ **I suppose not."**_

" _ **A tribunal will decide if the severity of your crimes agains the Nation warrant punishments or if you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.i wouldn't worrynow if you will excuse me, I need to dig someone out of the vents.**_

"The vents?"

_**An earthbender can sense the presence of another by vibrations in the ground, waterbender, by the very water in another's body, and some extremely powerful firebenders, by the electrical impulses that travel through the nerves to our brains,**_ Sunako explained. She watched the teen and her toddler leave before pulling out a second piece of parchment and sending it up to the vents. _**Please come down, Fire Lord Izumi.**_

Izumi climbed out of the ventilation shaft and entered the now-empty room to speak with Sunako.

"I should apologize-"

_**To a lot of people but not me. Not yet, at least.** _

Izumi sighed and sat down.

_**How are you feeling? Several witnesses claim it was a well aimed rock the size of a fist that finally defeated you.** _

"And was it? I hardly remember anything from that day other than Taemon crying, and an unbearable darkness following," Izumi replied.

_**Fatigue, would be my guess,**_ Sunako responded. _**Your inner fire— what Mr. Lee calls it— did incredible things to your body. It was truly extraordinary to examine you after the initial shock of watching a giant flaming lady deliver you to the balcony of the Earthen Fire Estate passed!**_

(What should zumi's expression be to this?) "That wasn't my intention," Izumi replied, her lips quirking into a smile. "What exactly happened after you found me on the balcony? What state was I in?"

_**It seemed the fire drained you of almost all of your chi. None of the other healers thought you could wake after such an ordeal and prepared for a state funeral but you were still breathing.** _

"Must have been something to see…"

_**I presume you're feeling better now?** _

"I'm alive, but overwhelmed. Do you know if Lin and Su and their families are still here? How's Xiaoyu? She was cut through? Her spirit was bleeding last I saw—"

_**Lin and Su and their families are still here. Xiaoyu is okay. Kya started healing her on the battlefield and we've since finished patching her up here.** _

"Are they both livid? Su for Huan and Lin for probably traumatizing her daughter?"

Sunako shifted uncomfortably. _**I'm afraid I can't answer that. Republic City's former Chief Of Police seems to be much better now that her children are all back. Her nervous system is still recovering-you might want to check on that later today. As for the Earth Queen, she's been making quite a few threats but we doubt she'll actually act on any.**_

"Great! I've started a war between Saru and his own sister," Izumi groaned. "How are my children? Where are they?"

_**Yoko has gone back to school, and Sasuke to Shu Jing. Iroh, Takeo, Rikuto, and Ursa are still here as are your father, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, and Toph Beifong Of the Swamp**_.

"Yoko…" _IT WASN'T HER!_ "You restored her memories."

_**After she woke, she confessed they'd been returning sporadically. Incomplete. She knew something had happened with Taemon and Tetsu but never what. All she was certain of was that she couldn't trust them. She tried to play Tetsuya. She told me she went along with his plan to stall Lin's investigation and manipulate you into sending Xiaoyu out with Kohaku only so she could learn the full extent of his plans… and how to earthbend. She learned his philosophy so she could counter it in that speech. You should know that she has succeed. We've located the archives of the Rogue League's operations in both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. Everyone involved has been accounted for accept for three who disappeared during the battle. There were only a dozen casualties out of two thousand combattants. Only about 1% of the Rogues still remain loyal to Taemon and his philosophy. The rest only wish for the crown to acknowledge the world is changing. They were told they'd be perceived as monsters if anyone found out what they could do before they broke through. And that encounter between that girl and her parents only confirmed their suspicions.** _

"Yoko shouldn't have had to do all of that," Izumi sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

_**But she did and there's no going back.** _

"I know. Sunako." The waterbender looked up. "I'm sorry for not investigating your suspicions so many years ago. I'm sorry for allowing my love for my sons to blind me to what you knew was true."

_**My Lord, I understand. You're a mother and there is no force more powerful than that love.** _

Just then the intercom for the palace crackled.

"This is General Iroh of the United Forces. I would like to announce that my mother, Fire Lord has officially risen and is in good health and WILL be resuming her duties as Fire Lord. Now I would like to address the Imperial Firebenders, the Amber League, and the Earthen Fire Guard. Thank you all for your stellar cooperation during this ordeal and thank you in advance for your unwavering loyalty to the _NATION_. Good day."

_**That's code for we can't help you hide from your father who is acting as regent, My Lord,**_ Sunako said, standing up.

On the dais, Zuko sat on the throne, the wall of fire casting a cool orange glow and illuminating the dark hall. To his right, Katara stood by, advising him. Masaru, Iroh, Takeo, Rikuto, and Ursa stood just below the throne. Izumi knelt.

"Father," she addressed Zuko, bowing to the regent with her head nearly touching the ground.

"Where is your crown?" Zuko asked, seeing her braided blue hair.

"Up my left sleeve," Izumi replied, not lifting her head without permission from the regent.

"Why is it not atop your head?"

"Because I still feel weak and it, far too heavy," Izumi replied. They felt like such childish excuses, but they were not far from the truth.

She could feel him extinguish the flames and walk down from the throne towards her. She remained crouched down having not yet received permission to rise. She felt his hand on her head. "You're still warm."

"I'll be honest, Father. I haven't put much effort into cooling down. I can do it, easily now- I just don't want to. It feels… better this way, and after the battle… an if there's no point hiding, now that the wold has seen what I am…"

"Don't worry about cooling then, Zumi. Do what you must to recover. You know your body best." Zuko said. "I can remain regent until you're at full strength again."

"Thank you, Father," Izumi sighed.

"You may rise now," he said.

She stood. "May I ask, what has become of my sons, and Suyin's second oldest one?"

"They're all currently in prison awaiting trial." Zuko answered stiffly.

"When will be their trial?" Izumi asked quickly.

"As soon as you are well enough to preside over it. Hopefully by the end of the week."

"And in which prison are they being held?" Izumi asked.

"That I am afraid we cannot tell you," Zuko replied.

Izumi's head shot up in surprise. "But I am still the Fire Lord- and their mother- I have a right to know where my OWN sons are being held!"

"It is in the best interests of the nation that you don't know. We're worried you may set them free-"

"That is ridiculous. I may be their mother, but my love for them does not cloud my judgement anymore! I'd sooner beat them myself— AGAIN for deceiving me than set them free! I just want to see for myself that they're still breathing, Father, you must understand my concerns!— all the times I've gone missing—"

"A father's devotion is different from a mother's and as regent I must put the wellbeing of the Fire Nation before your demands…and as Fire Lord, you too must put your nation before your family-" Zuko replied.

"No," Izumi said sharply.

"I beg your pardon?" Zuko asked.

"Don't you think you've sacrificed me one-too many times for the nation? All it has done is created a monster with an ever-growing desire to burn down that same nation. If you don't tell me where my children are, I will find out myself," Izumi decided, sweeping out of the room without even giving Masaru or the four children present a single glance.

"Mom!" Ursa and Iroh yelled.

"Zumiya!"

"Mother!" Takeo and Rikuto called after her.

Just before Izumi reached the doors to the Throne Room, they were thrown open and in marched the Earth Queen with an entourage of Royal Earthbenders, Dai Li Agents, and Metalbending guards from Zaofu.

"Good you're awake," Suyin chirped, crossing her arms smugly. "Where is my son?"

"She doesn't know!" Masaru yelled.

"They refuse to tell me where mine are too. I was on my way to find out before you came and ruined everything," Izumi replied, pushing right through Suyin's guards and out of the room.

"Zumiya!" Masaru ran after her.

* * *

"Ma'am, you are not allowed in here!" a guard informed Izumi, standing in front of the door. She raised a hand and knocked him out with a quick surge of energy.

"Zumi!" Masaru raised a hand at her back and electrocuted her, fighting for control of her body.

"Saru- let go!" Izumi grunted, trying to fight him inside herself.

"No. You hurt an innocent sentry to selfishly get the information you seek. I cannot allow that behavior to be rewarded. Stand down, Izumi," Masaru ordered.

"You cannot command me!" Izumi shrieked, a tear falling from her eyes.

"I can and I am!" Masaru yelled, taking a few steps closer, strengthening his grip on her muscles. "You may be my Fire Lord, but you will soon be my wife too. I care about you and I know senselessly hurting people isn't your nature."

"If you cared, you'd let me see my sons," Izumi replied through gritted teeth as she grew scared, being unable to move her own body.

"Taemon, Tetsu, and Tatsu are my sons too," Masaru replied softly. "I want you to visit them, but I cannot divulge their location until we know you are level enough to face them. And frankly dear, you aren't helping your case."

Masaru felt her stop trying to resist, and let him bring her to the floor, kneeling. He let go and went to inspect the sentry stationed outside of the archives. He placed his hand on the guard's soldier and woke him. "Are you alright?" the business man asked, looking down with worry.

"You're one of them too!" the guard yelped, diving away at the sight of Masaru's flaming red hair.

"I'm not going to hurt you and I'm not going to let her hurt you. I just wanted to apologize for her actions. She's been feeling rather bereft, but I know that does not excuse her actions," Masaru replied, turning to Izumi kneeling on the floor, her hair dimming but still pretty bright.

The guard eyed them skeptically. Masaru said no more as he picked up the Fire Lord bridal style and took her back to her room.

* * *

Hours later, they found themselves in the Sunset Room, where there was no throne, and everyone could be seated as equals at a perfectly circular, headless table. Izumi sat flanked by her fiancé and her father. On the other side of Masaru sat Lin and on the other side of her, Tenzin, then Suyin, Baatar, Kya, Bumi, Toph, and Katara.

"I suppose I should apologize for all this," Izumi said, commencing the meeting with her crown resting on the table, again refusing to wear the wretched thing.

"Apologize for what exactly?" Lin asked, sounding much cooler than Izumi expected her to be after such a near-death experience with Xiaoyu.

"Taking our son away?" Suyin asked rhetorically, jade eyes glaring.

"Please," Baatar whispered softly, placing a hand on his wife's leg. "Huan's actions were no fault of Izumi's."

Suyin huffed and blew a lock of wavy grey hair out of her face.

"Izumi, how long have you known about this-'inner flame?'" Lin asked.

"It first revealed itself to me when I was twenty-three years old. I was lost in the Si Wong Desert after escaping a sandbender who wanted to whore me away in some black market city. After a few days without food or water, when I knew I couldn't cry anymore or risk complete dehydration, I saw my hands and arms catch flames. I woke up weeks later in an herbalist's tent in a sand bending village with a little girl beside me. Nala, she was. She told me how a giant, blue, flaming figure deposited me at hers and her father's feet, begged them to help me and then dissipated without a trace. They'd called me 'the Desert Lady'. Thought I was a spirit that had become immensely sad or immensely angry. My hair burned blue for nearly the entire year that I was there."

"What were you doing in the desert in the first place?" Baatar asked, showing genuine concern.

"Trying to find my husband. I wanted to make him hurt for what he had done to me during our marriage. I wanted to make him suffer and then kill the both of us and be able to call it a mercy, to put us out of our misery, as I'd wished he had done on multiple occasions." Izumi answered honestly.

"Why didn't you come to Republic City when he hurt you, or after? We could have helped you," Kya asked.

"My duty then was to produce an heir and a spare for my nation. I didn't have time for a vacation or spiritual retreat! After, I was afraid— no certain that I would be perceived as a monster. I had no explanation for my temperature, my blue hair— didn't know what I was and it was terrifying. I was the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation! I had a three year old baby! Both my nation and my son would think me a freak! I was someone whom no one could touch without getting burned. I couldn't control my energy or heat, and after weeks of complete immobility, my muscles had been reduced to NOTHING!" Izumi replied, looking not at anyone but down at the empty table. "I was supposed to be perfect! The first Fire Lord to ascend the throne without a criminal record. I was supposed to be the one to redeem my family's honor on the international stage after generations of genocide and tyranny. I could not return to my nation a spiritually-imbalanced flaming lady!"

"How did you ever return to normal?" Baatar asked curiously.

"I went to Wan Shi Tong's Library to try to find out what I was. I scoured the place almost every waking hour, pretty much whenever I wasn't helping out around the house where I was staying or helping the village hunt. The last people who had access to their inner flame were General Zhi and his army that united the Fire Islands the first time tens of thousands of years ago. People were terrified of him even though he only intended to bring peace. I don't want people to fear me!" Izumi said. "He taught me that Fire is supposed to be a bringer of life, not destruction. Its heat is the energy that powers every process in every organism, every society, every ecosystem and environment. He told me to reestablish that peace, educate the masses, and above all reintroduce the true meaning of firebending. I made that my goal and came to terms with what I was and what I wanted to become and found inner peace."

"Perhaps recent events have jostled that peace, resulting in a weakening sense of self assurance. Maybe that's why your hair had been flaring more and more frequently." Tenzin mused.

"Recently?" Izumi scoffed. "More like decades of pressure and anxiety," Izumi mumbled, resting her chin on the table like a tired teenager in a morning class still recovering from a night out. Masaru looked over and stroked her head, running his hand through her hair and down her back, petting her like a volcat or a baby dragon.

"What can we do to help you, Fire Lord Izumi?" Baatar asked, leaning forward.

"Help you never let your inner fire through again," Suyin suggested.

"Never?" Izumi lifted her gaze but left her head on the table.

"It is something that provides emotional release. I see that now and I think Izumi should not have to hide this ability," Zuko suggested.

"It seems dangerous—" Suyin explained.

"It isn't! It doesn't even burn anything unless I make it. It's a life force! A protector. It wants peace just as much as the rest of us. It isn't dangerous at all!" Izumi yelled, standing with both hands straight on the table, her hair flaring. Suyin shrunk back in her seat, frightened.

Without a word, Masaru closed his hand around Izumi's upper arm. Her head whipped around angrily and she hissed at him, almost ferally but he didn't waver in the least as he pulled her back into her seat. "Su, it isn't the Fire you should fear. The Fire itself is not dangerous, only the woman wielding it."

"I don't believe you! I knew Zumzu before all this shit went down and she was never this volatile."

"Suyin, do you think I am dangerous?" Masaru asked, leaning forward onto his elbows.

"Not really, why?" Suyin asked.

Masaru lifted his gaze to his little sister. His hair turned a flaming red and released his six dragons, letting four of them dance across the meeting table in their semi-translucent flaming form.

"Because I can do it too," Masaru said, sitting back in his chair. Some of the dragons played with each other, wrestling. "I used to think it dangerous. I encouraged Zumi to hide it away, I helped her cover up the evidence whenever it did come through. I learned to smother it, to smother her. But just last week, she found sources in the Library that further proved it wasn't such a bad thing. It feels good to let out all that pent up energy. It IS relief." Masaru turned his attention to his dragons. "These are its most basic forms, I think. Those small ones that are playing, those are Fear, Hunger, Father, and Regret. I keep them as small as I can, but they're still there, lungs still breathing, hearts still beating. There is still so much to be learned about them. They are manifestations of our emotions all constantly vying for more of our energy and attention. What we as people have to learn to control is not just one inner fire, but each of these six emotions. Feed one too much of our energy, and we can destroy ourselves."

"Is that what's happening to that guy?" Suyin asked, nodding to the two massive red dragons behind Masaru. One of them was smelling Izumi. She was leaning away, she hated that one.

"Those are Heart and Husband. They're large but not to the large enough for me to self destruct." One of the massive, red dragons bent down to smell Izumi warily." Husband doesn't like Izumi's Fear very much. He wants her to let out her dragons so he can attack her Hurt and Fear. They fight a lot."

"What does that even mean?" Suyin asked.

"Show her," Masaru urged, nudging Izumi encouragingly.

"Why should I? I am not a circus freak or some oddity to be put on display in a museum!" Izumi replied, her voice cracking. "I didn't come here to play show and tell with myself!" Masaru took both her hands and touched his forehead to hers.

"You're not an oddity. You are unique. We both are and it's okay," Masaru replied, cupping her chin and kissing her was something about his touch that melted her resistance. She trusted and loved him. She folded her arms angrily and let out her dragons. Her smallest ones didn't play. They were barely the length of fingers while the largest two, Hurt and Fear, were immediately rammed into the wall by Masaru's Heart and Husband.

Izumi winced and squeezed his hands.

"Does it hurt?" Kya asked, watching Izumi while Suyin warily watched the dragons fighting off to the side of the room.

"Not physically,"Izumi answered. "It's strange-invasive, almost. But afterwards, everything feels so much easier," Izumi replied.

"I see it as a time-saving alternative to petty arguing," Masaru said with a sloppy smile.

Izumi curled up under his arm. Her face was relaxing and she seemed to be getting more comfortable as the dragons continued their fight.

Masaru's dragons triumphed and his other ones rolling around on the table, wrestling got slightly bigger. Izumi's finger-length dragons grew to the size of her forearm and her hurt and Fear limped back into her tired from the day's event.

"What do you want to do Zumzu?" Zuko asked, tucking a lock of blue hair behind his daughter's ear.

"First, I want to know how many people have seen my fire," Izumi replied.

"Well, considering it carried you about three thousand miles and stands about a hundred feet high, I'd say a good third of the nation," Masaru replied.

Izumi turned her face into Masaru's shirt and groaned loudly with frustration.

Masaru's Heart bent down beside her and groaned back. She stuck her tongue out at it and then snuggled up against him again.

"Do you want to cover it up?" Zuko asked Izumi more specifically.

"No. I'm done hiding. It's absolutely exhausting and counterproductive," Izumi said. "All I want is peace. Peace for myself and for that, peace for the world." Izumi thought for a moment. "I want to be honest. Living a lie as well as Aunt Azula taught me to has only clouded my mind from the truth. It's that confusion of what is and isn't actually before me that strengthened the denial that enabled the twins, Taemon, and Huan to execute their plan to exploit the special benders of the Fire Nation and the EK to overthrow us in the name of some unfeasible freedom."

"And what will you do with your inner fire once it is out?" Tenzin asked.

"I want to continue what my father and Avatar Aang started. I want to help maintain peace and balance in the world."

"Isn't that what we have Korra for?" Suyin asked pointedly.

"Ah yes, the new Avatar. And where was she in all this?"

"Minding her own business. Domestic issues aren't her responsibility." Suyin answered.

"Oh then I supposed she shouldn't have gone to Zaofu to duel Kuvira for the autonomy of your city. She should have just let you remain imprisoned for trying to assassinate the girl you called a daughter and then watch your city be ransacked!" Izumi replied, throwing Masaru's arm off of her shoulder to practically launch herself over the table at Suyin. "The avatar is supposed to concern herself with worldly matters. Not just those pertaining to her close friends and family!"

"That was different-"

"How? If you learned ANYTHING from Uncle Aang it should have been that the world needs ALL of the Nations to continue to turn!" Izumi sat down. "Maybe I could help out the Air Nomads mediate talks between opposing parties in any and all skirmishes in every nation."

"You'd be seen as the ultimate Fire Nation imperialist trying to stick your flaming nose into every country's business," Suyin replied bitterly.

"I wouldn't be concerning myself with your shitty politics. I would be on the ground with the people. For example, if another equalist revolution arose, I could fight for neutrality— be the buffer between the warring sides. In the Earth Kingdom, I could quell the bandits in the Si Wong Desert that you still haven't addressed. I could help reduce the poverty in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se that you still haven't even acknowledged, and provide the necessary equipment to revolutionize farming in the famine-ridden northern EK. The list of work that could be done in the Earth Kingdom alone is endless, and yet it's current ruler doesn't seem to be very interested in doing anything about it, so why shouldn't I step up?" Izumi asked pointedly.

"Okay, we all just need to settle down before we begin another Hundred Year war between Earth and Fire," Baatar said, holding back Suyin, while Masaru contained Izumi.

"Can you even serve the world in such a capacity as the current Fire Lord?" Lin asked.

"I was planning on abdicating immediately after the wedding— but I think I now it will be best done just after my boys' trials." Izumi replied

"Right, I'd forgotten about that," Lin noted.

"So you can clear them of all charges?" Suyin asked.

"I'm not you. My sons deserve no mercy for their crimes against humanity."

"Zumi— remember your lessons!" Zuko reprimanded.

Izumi grimaced. FOCUS "Even before leaving office, I can help the world. As Fire Lord, I can do whatever I want in my country. As a free citizen of my country, I can pledge allegiance to anybody I want to. But I suppose I should get your approval first before making such declarations."

"That would probably be best," Lin nodded.

"We would gladly accept whatever assistance you can provide to our endeavors so long as they do not involve the use of dark lightning." Tenzin expressed.

"Dark lightning isn't all bad. It can heal too. It is only called dark because it is used where the sun doesn't shine," Izumi insisted.

"Than so long as it is used without malintent. No torture, please. Only healing," Lin asked.

"Deal. Suyin?" Izumi promised and turned.

Suyin groaned. "For the sake of my people, I will accept, but know that I want my son back and if I do not get him, I will return with the full strength of my army."

"I invite the invasion. It would provide a nice training exercise for my men," Izumi mumbled with her arms folded petulantly.

"Both of you QUIT THIS!" Masaru snapped.

"My Lord, there is a phone for you," Hiryur announced, entering the room.

"Who thinks they are so important that they can interrupt a meeting between the Fire Lord, the Earth Queen and the Grand Master of the Air Nomads?" Suyin asked irritably as Izumi rose to receive the call.

"The chieftains of the Northern Water Tribe," Hiryur replied, handing over the phone.

"Actually, that is perfect timing," Masaru thought to himself.

"Fire Lord Izumi here," Izumi answered, tiredly.

"Fire Lord Izumi, we just wanted to check up on the status of your nation" came the droning voice of Eska of the Northern Water Tribe.

"From our city, it looked as if the Fire Islands were burning on our horizon," Desna added.

"The nation is stronger than ever. Thank you for your concern. The fires were just- me teaching a son a lesson,"

"Are you alright, Fire Lord Izumi?" Desna asked.

"Our sources say you slept for three days in the aftermath of the flames," Eska informed the Fire Lord.

"Who are your sources?" Izumi asked curiously, not liking to be spied on but perfectly content with spying on others.

"We cannot disclose their identities for their own safety. Forgive us," Desna replied.

"Naturally," Izumi sighed. "I am still recovering, but for the most part, fine. Thank you for your concern."

"We are glad." Desna deadpanned.

"Is that all you were going to ask?"

"Yes."

"Then before you go, may I ask a question of you? Or more- well… tell you what actually happened?" Izumi waited and when she heard no protest, continued. "I have an ability to access the purest energy that exists in all firebenders. It is a defense mechanism that in most of its forms, when released, can act on their own accord to protect me and my goals. For the most part, it obeys. Three days ago, I had to bring it out for the first time in battle to secure the safety of my nation. I have hidden it for years out of fear that the world would think me a monster. Recently, I have gained more understanding of it and would like to use it for good, to help maintain the peace and the balance in the world that the previous Avatar strove for. With your approval, I would like to publicly declare my allegiance, not necessarily just to you but to your people as well. In the event of an emergency, I could come, provide espionage services, mediate discussions and negotiations, and with my inner fire, quell anyone's willingness to engage the other party with violence."

"You've unlocked your inner fire," Eska asked, sounding equally surprised and impressed.

"We have heard of tales like it growing up." Desna informed the Fire Lord.

"Our one Father never could reach his true spirit so he sought out Vaatu's."

"Only a fool would decline your request, Fire Lord Izumi."

"We accept your proposal to provide aid in the event of social unrest and welcome you to come to the Northern Water Tribe any time you see reason."

"In fact, you can come now if you like— and take over at least for a little while."

"Ruling the tribe is so tedious."

Izumi laughed remembering her first spontaneous trip to the northern Tribe with Kya and how fun it was. "As much as I enjoy the Water Tribes, now is not exactly a good time with so much to clean up here and your people are at peace. They, nor you, need intervention now. I will not concern myself with the Water Tribe politics at the present nor do I find it ethical for fire to rule your people for you. I will just help minimize insurgency and international disputes so long as you rule relatively justly and without too much issue." Izumi replied.

"That is reasonable."

"Is that all, then?"

"Yes," Izumi confirmed.

"Then we wish you a speedy recovery from this battle, and goodluck with your new quest."

"Thank you Chiefs Eska and Desna." Izumi said hanging up with a heavy sigh. Zuko and Masaru both nodded with approval as Izumi turned back to the table.

"While you're still at the phone, would you like to call Tonraq of the Southern Tribe?" Zuko suggested.

"Sure." Izumi shrugged dialing. Might as well. She questioned the propriety of calling Tonraq in the presence of the other world leaders but then thought there was no harm in

"Chief Tonraq speaking."

"Hey, it's Fire Lord Izumi."

"Fire Lord Izumi? How are you feeling? My sources say you embarked on a rescue mission for one of Chief- former Chief Beifong's children and things went south- Are you alright?"

"I am still recovering, but for the most part, better now. Thank you for asking— hey I just wanted to… ask… I'm not sure how much you know about firebending but— I've this ability that hasn't been seen for a while…"

"Like Zaheer and flying?"

Izumi laughed, probably shouldn't have but did. "I guess like that. I— I've hidden it for a long while out of fear, but a recent turn of events has made me reconsider. I'd like to pledge myself, and it to helping the world, and publicly declare an allegiance not just to the world leaders but the civilians in all of our nations. I would like to serve, in whatever capacity I can, everyone that I can with my power."

"That's very noble of you."

"Thank you."

"If there is anything we can do in the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out please. As you have seen, it is not weakness you exhibit when you ask for assistance, but bravery, to acknowledge your flaws and faults."

"I knew it once, but have forgotten this recently. Thank you, Tonraq for the reminder."

"I wish you luck, Izumi," Tonraq said, smiling on his end of the phone. "Now I should probably let you get back to your reconstruction. My sources tell me even the palace is in a rather shambled state after a hearing for traitors in the Amber League went awry."

"Who told you?"

"Sunako,"

"How? She can't-"

"Morse-"

"Right, well you're right, I suppose I should get back to work eventually, and yourself. Talk to you soon."

"And you."

"Goodbye!"

"Bye."

_Click!_

"You're so friendly with the Water Tribes," Lin commented quietly.

"They pose no threat to the Fire Nation after being nearly obliterated by the end of the last war-" Suyin muttered.

"They know me." Izumi corrected Suyin. She turned to Kya. "And I know them."

"Is that all for the phone calls?" Hiryur asked.

"I believe there's the still the United Republic left…"

"Right, the new President, Zhu Li."

"I've heard she's a level mind,"

"At least more level than Raiko, and more selfless."

"Well might as well get it over with, Zumzu," Zuko shrugged.

Hiryur dialed then handed the phone to Izumi.

After a long while a secretary answered. "The President is currently unavailable-"

"Where is she?" Izumi asked flatly.

"At a mover premier with her husband, the Great Iknik Blackstone Varrick-"

"This is the Fire Lord Izumi. Can you please pass me through to a direct line?" Izumi asked.

"I am sorry, your lordship, my instructions were to only receive messages for the President with no exceptions," the secretary explained.

"Very well, you may record the following message for your President. In refusing to speak with other world leaders in the wake of quelled imminent international chaos, President Zhu Li Moon has by default declined the offer of influences in any decisions made henceforth regarding the matter. Good day," Izumi said hanging up."

"Zumzu," Zuko said condescendingly. _That was not nice._

"Spare me!" Izumi snarled before turning away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To draft up a press statement for tomorrow morning," Izumi replied, rudely heading for the door.

Tenzin reached out a hand behind his hair and while blowing the heat she emanated away, grasped her wrist, stopping her. "Zumi, may we see it before you make the announcement tomorrow regarding this pledge to the world?"

Izumi paused to consider it. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Maybe you can help make sure it doesn't sound like I intend to become the world's policeman."

"Exactly."

"Thank you, Tenzin."

Tenzin nodded and let her go.

"Is that it then she swears fealty and we're all good again after seeing what we've seen and knowing what she knows? She has a secret police that trafficked children for an elite army-"

"The Rogue League isn't a part of the Amber League," Masaru repeated.

"And doesn't the Dai Li do the same thing?" Lin asked pointedly.

Suyin harrumphed and fell silent.

"Kya, do you think you can- keep her from her sons until the trial?" Masaru asked, changing the subject.

"I can try," Kya offered.

"Thank you."

Zuko adjourned the meeting with a summary and a bang of a gong precisely on the hour and everyone was free to return to their families.

* * *

They were both exhausted after what felt like hours of love making, but Izumi still couldn't sleep. She turned over and watched the Southern Watertribe woman breathing, backlit by the moonlight. She looked so relaxed, so at peace while she slept. She never did marry or have children. She never felt that same duty or obligation a wife and mother did. She was so free in her existence, free to travel, experiment and learn, free to explore. She did not suffer from the endless barrage of public scrutiny. Though the Avatar's Daughter, she could be anything she wanted to be. Izumi reaches out and ran her thumb along a line that marred the side of her once smooth face. another wrinkle that she'd acquired with age.

"So lucky," Izumi whispered, jealous of her lover.

"Hm?" Kya stirred.

"I was just thinking,"

"Seems it's all you've been doing these past few years. Doesn't it get tiring," Kya asked with a lopsided smile much like her maternal Uncle's.

"Always, but there's no time to ever break," Izumi replied resting her hand on her lover's neck, looping her thumb under the betrothal necklace she gave the Southern Water Tribe woman the day she informed her they couldn't be.

"Take a short break, to be with me," Kya said sliding closer to kiss the Fire Lord.

Izumi accepted the kiss. The lips were salty from the tears that they'd both shed that evening, but her tongue was so sweet as it reached deeper.

"I'm sorry, Kya," Izumi whispered when they broke for air.

"For what?" Kya asked.

"Everything," Izumi said, bending the lightning into her lover's brain, reaching for a memory while stifling a scream.

"Can you keep her from our sons?" Masaru asked.

"How do you propose that?"

"Diverting her attention if she gets near."

"Near to what?"

"The Capital Prison. Maybe you can tell her they're being held at the Boiling Rock," Masaru suggested.

"Will do,"

"Better yet, just be you. Love her. Lover her like I never could." Masaru asked.

"I will always."

"Thank you."

Izumi released her hold on her lover's muscles and brain and then pressed that point at the base of her head that forced her into a dreamless sleep that would last at least a few hours.

"I'm sorry, Kya. I have to see them," Izumi whispered, climbing out of bed with the information she needed. She pulled a nightgown over her nakedness, a robe and a heavy cloak and headed for the door only to find it locked. She tried to undo the mechanism with magnetic field generation, but it had been melted, soldered shut and blasting it apart was sure to wake someone. She was locked like a prisoner in her own palace in their attempts to keep her from her sons. She crossed the room to the window. There were at least two Yuyan archers on the roof above her and at least six on the roof below.

Izumi climbed onto the sill of her window and reached one hand out to the archers above and another to those below and willed their muscles to contract and extend. She made them lower their weapons and silently step away from the edge, covering their eyes and remaining silent while doing so, and she slipped into the night unseen.

* * *

"Who goes there?" the prison guard yelled raising his arms when the hooded figure came closer.

Izumi opened her palm and sent electricity coursing through the ground the guard. He screamed and fell to his knees, every muscle and every nerve in his body aching.

"F—Fire L-L-Lord Izu-mi?" the guard asked, trembling.

Several of Izumi's abilities as a firebender were already published in the state papers as a form of deterrent. However in the attempt to deter other firebenders from mimicking her techniques and possibly self combusting, she had gotten herself named public enemy number 1 by several private papers that described how her god-like abilities made her a monster that couldn't be trusted with the safety of the nation. Taemon's tactics of instilling fear in the people had worked short term, but Izumi knew that after the initial panic they'd remember what she'd done for them and they'd forgive the strange display of her inner fire.

"I am going in for a visit and nobody is going know about it. Not my father, not any of my guards, and certainly not the Amber League if they come asking. I don't feel like being lectured in the morning. Break, and you'll have to answer to me," Izumi said to the guard, not lifting her head as she entered the prison.

"Y-ye-yes m-m-m-my L-Lord," the man stuttered, bowing.

Izumi found the warden's office, picked the lock with one of her knives, and searched the logbooks for her sons. They'd been interned almost immediately after the battle without issue. Losing one's bending does strange things to one's energy and chi-pathways. She wouldn't be surprised if they couldn't even walk the rest of that day. They were all separated in far corners of the prison with Taemon in a high security cell deep underground. She went to see Tatsuya first. It took all of her self will to not break open the gate and let him out just so she could hold him again and try to convince herself that they'd be okay.

He looked so different with his hair not in a ponytail. He looked like Tetsu, but his face was much sadder and much more gaunt than she had ever seen he was like a living corpse with bags under his eyes. He gaze was different as if he were suffering from withdrawal of something and didn't know where he was

"Mother, I'm sorry! I— is there anything! Any way I can repent to get my bending back—you must understand. I was only obeying Tetsu! Mother, please!"

"Save your breath. There's no use trying to convince me of your self-proclaimed innocence. Was it not your philosophy to never hold hold back? So I won't hold back! I won't show mercy since this entire time, you should have been obeying me. It's funny what happens- how people change when they're afraid," Izumi said.

"If you're not here to show me mercy, then why come?"

Izumi dropped her hood and knelt down. "Because you're still my son. I wanted to make sure you were okay, still eating... breathing..."

"I'm not going to kill myself now if that's what you're worried about," Tatsuya groaned, laying down.

"That's good to hear." Izumi replied. "Why did you do it? Why did you follow them into this mess?"

"It was interesting learning to bend water. And bored I guess. Bored with fire."

"So you thought it would be fun to torment parents by abducting their children and subjecting them to torture and propaganda?" Izumi asked.

"No, it wasn't like that! Not at first. We just wanted to share our knowledge. See if it was possible for others. We wanted a village of sorts with others like us. We wanted validation, and worried that you would think us monsters for what we'd done to ourselves!" Tatsuya explained.

"Tsuya, come here," Izumi ordered, moving closer to the bars.

Tatsuya eyed her skeptically.

"Do you remember when Great Uncle Sokka told you about that blood bender Hama who used to terrorize that one Fire Nation Village?"

"Yes," Tatsuya replied, not moving towards her.

"Do you remember what you asked me that night?"

"No?"

"You asked, 'Mother, do you think that monster is still alive? Do you think she will come after us for your grandfather's crimes?'"

Tatsu blinked away tears, the long-buried memory resurfacing.

"'Monsters don't exist. Good and evil is present in everyone. But if that woman tries to come after you, I'll prevail and lock her away because you've don't nothing wrong and cannot be blamed for the sins of our forefathers...'" Tatsuya recited. He thought in silence for a few moments. "How can monsters not exist when we fell into such dark territories under the guise of exploration and experimentation?"

"If curiosity is what creates a monster than I am certainly one. I've created a martial art far worse than bloodbending. I can make people hurt and turn their own bodies against them. Bloodbending feels strange and invasive, terrifying, but it doesn't hurt like how I can make someone hurt. Dark lighting can kill a person, can paralyze them temporarily or permanently, can wipe away certain or all memories and I've perfected it. Can you guess how?"

"Experimentation?"

"I don't blame you for wanting to find a village of people like you, or for wanting to make one when you found none existed. I do blame you however, for not considering the consequences of your actions, the pain it caused these families to lose their loved ones and the pain it caused the children, especially to lose their families. But I also blame myself for all those things," Izumi said.

Tatsuya sat up. "No, don't-"

"I failed as a mother to make you feel safe enough at home, to be satisfied with your standing. I failed to make you comfortable, to let you know that you can talk to me about feeling alone, and for that, I'm so sorry," Izumi said.

"Mother- this wasn't your fault!" Tatsuya said. When he heard his mother's voice crack, he moved closer. "Mother- don't blame yourself," he said, reaching though the bars to place a hand on her shoulder.

She gasped and clasped hers over his. "You're cold!"

"Mother, I'm not. I'm just not as warm as a firebender now," he replied sadly.

Izumi held his hand and his bicep and warmed him from the inside out with her bending. He laughed. "You're lying to me. Not even Sasuke runs this cold and he's never been a bender of anything," Izumi said firmly.

"Mother," Tatsuya sighed. "Stop fretting."

"Maybe a lack of fretting is what landed us here in the first place. I should have been more attentive- more present. Spent less time tormenting my own enemies for comfort and more time making sure my children would be better than me in terms of morality when it came time to test the limits of their own abilities," Izumi growled, warming him completely with a scowl on her face.

"Thank you, mother," he said quietly. Izumi paused, not sure if she had heard her son's voice it was so soft.

"For what?"

"All you have done."

"I just wish I could have done more," Izumi replied. "I should go see the others and get back before either your or my father sends out the huntsmen and their eel hounds."

"You didn't tell them you were coming?"

"Of course not! They'd never approve," Izumi said, turning to the side with a huff of irritation. "Even with all of the power in the world, there is no freedom. Remember that, Tatsu. No matter what, we are bound by obligation to one entity or another, family, duty, honor... all of it." Izumi said. "I hope you sleep as well as you can. I'm afraid I won't be able to help you during the trial... but that doesn't mean I won't try."

* * *

Tetsuya didn't believe her. Of course he wouldn't. He was so similar. So jaded and skeptical, always on guard. "If you've done all that you've say you've done, if you claim to be as immoral as we, if you claim to be the same, then stand trial with us for your abuse of power-" Tetsuya challenged.

"I stand trial with you and you never even get a chance to walk free again!" Izumi argued.

"What does freedom matter if we'll be sentenced to death, Mother? You may not want to kill us but I'm sure there are plenty who do and the law—"

"Can be overruled only by the Fire Lord. If Iroh becomes Fire Lord and has to try all of four of us? You KNOW as well as I that his interests align with the people!"

"And yours don't?" Tetsuya asked, testing her. He had always been so smart, so sharp and clever.

"Mine walk a middle line," Izumi replied, treading carefully, knowing he was crafty, and that anything she said could be later used against her.

Tetsuya said nothing in response.

"Only I would want to see you walk free eventually. And only I can ever restore your bending. But I need mine to do so."

"Anyone can energybend if they knew what to do," Tetsuya scoffed, rolling his eyes. He would never admit any sort of dependence.

"I didn't use energybending on you," Izumi replied. "I physically seared your chi pathways closed so that not even meditation could ever open your chakras again. And only I know where to singe off the dead fibers and promote new growth that will allow that energy to flow again," Izumi replied.

Tetsuya looked up at his mother with horror. "Where did you learn such a sick craft?"

"Towards the end of my formal training, my primary firebending instructor was my dear Aunt." Izumi answered pacing by Tetsuya's cell. "She was a genius without a conscience. Looking back, I can see she skewed my own perception on things. Made me comfortable with doing whatever it took to preserve my own life and only those closest to me even if it cost others everything," Izumi replied.

"What are your plans, mother?"

"What do you mean?"

"Someone as smart as you doesn't study this hard, experiment this much with things that are so dangerous for nothing. Curiosity with that fervor does not exist. What are you planning?"

"I don't know."

"Then I suggest you should get back to the palace, before Father wakes and finds you missing."

"You're my perfect foil, Tetsu, do you know that?"

"Am I? Or is Taemon?" Tetsuya asked, turning for the first time to face her.

She subconsciously lifted her chin, as a mother would scolding her child, but this boy wasn't a boy anymore. He could not be deterred by a condescending gaze. He was a challenger. He was every bit a part of her like her and she found it infuriating.

* * *

Taemon looked relaxed sitting square in the center of his cell, meditating. He had accepted his fate when her fire overpowered him and took her bending when she was incapacitated. He knew hs could not beat her. "Saru told me what happened. That I blacked out after you hit me with that rock. That my fire acted for me." Izumi said to Taemon. He ignored her… or tried to. "I hope it didn't hurt you. I hope it didn't- do anything permanent that I couldn't undo- If-"

"What would it matter if it did or didn't?" Taemon asked. "You hate me for turning your sons and your nephew against you. You hate me because of who my father was to you. You see him in me, don't you?"

"No more than I see Hisoki in Iroh and you know that,Taemon," Izumi replied.

"But that took time."

"As does anything. Forgive me for being human and for needing time to forgive the blood that runs through you," Izumi replied.

"You don't deserve forgiveness!"

"Neither do you, but we both still receive it," Izumi replied, surprising the young man.

He turned to face her standing there in his high-security, windowless cell.

She continued. "I won't let them kill you. I know the boy in you is capable of being better than the monster in me- of growing. When he comes back, I will give him his bending."

"And what if I told you now that boy is dead," Taemon asked.

"I would tell you you're lying to yourself. I can see through you, you know that full well."

"Then why couldn't you see through the omissions in our reports to you throughout the last decade?"

"Because I didn't want to believe what I was seeing. I was in denial."

"How do you know you aren't still?"

Before Izumi could answer there was a pop and an explosion. The unmistakable sound of a combustion bender. Izumi took one look at Taemon's shocked expression and ran. There was a cloaked woman followed by two others. She looked up at Izumi and scrunched up her face in concentration. The Fire Lord put her hands together and channeled her energy into creating a rainbow shield of fire. It was the fire of life she learnt how to bend from the dragons when she was ten. It deflected the blast from the combustion bender to the walls and ceiling of the prison, weakening its foundation. The combustion bender must have been surprised, because she didn't fire again. The combustion bender's two accomplices jumped behind Izumi as soon as she dissipated her fire to see and tried to chi-block her, but she knew how to respond and ended up disabling them instead, then turned back to the combustion bender.

"Do you know who I am?" Izumi asked, igniting her hair blue, letting out her dragons, multiplying the angles from which she could attack.

"Give me Taemon Yamakatsu, and nobody else has to die tonight."

"Else?"

"The sentry is dead. He was incompetent. He let me enter thinking his only job was preventing inmates from leaving. I thought his death might prompt a proper replacement," the combustion benders said, walking forward. Hurt attacked from the rear, but the Combustion Bender repelled him with a stream of red fire. Then Heart tried only to be repelled.

"Don't you know you can't fight fire with fire?" the combustion bender asked with a smirk, unfazed.

"Why do you want Taemon?"

"I was a member of his Rogue League. I wanted to see if he could do a better job at teaching than his father. I was wrong. And now I want to kill him for all he's done," the combustionbender answered.

"If you hated his teachings, and was a part of his little posse, why didn't you kill him sooner?"

"He was too powerful then," the combustionbender explained.

"Ah— so you're the type to only prey on the weak. You are only comfortable killing him after I've taken his bending! How noble!" Izumi scoffed, standing her ground outside her former ward's cell.

"Why are you protecting him?"

"Because he is every bit my son as the twins and I'd sooner die than see him fall under a blast from your freak of a third eye!" Izumi replied firmly, her hair growing brighter, her eyes narrowing, her Mother, Fear, and Hunger all growing larger. Hurt and Heart both slithered up her arms as both were too weak to fight.

"He is not your son! He is a Yamakatsu, through and through. You knew the monster his father was and you hated him too! Taemon is the same!"

"Did he ever beat and rape anyone in the Rogue League?" Izumi asked not wanting to believe Taemon was as bad as Kage.

"Stop stalling—"

"Answer me!"

"No. He didn't. But he killed in cold blood! Is that really any better?"

"Yes!"

Taemon gasped in his cell.

"As one who has spent the larger part of my life being subject to torture, I would have welcomed death numerous times as a mercy!"

"Then why are you and Masaru still here? Why not make that escape together?"

"Because seeing my sons' beautiful faces negated almost all of the pain," Izumi replied. Heart looped under Izumi's arm and whispered in her ear then returned to her hand.

"What did it say?" the combustion bender asked eyeing the mysterious dragon. As Izumi opened her palm. Heart dropped something into it and then spat fire on it.

Izumi closed her hand. "Tell me who you are and I might just let you see Taemon."

"I am Horuma, a former ward of Kage Yamakatsu raised alongside P'li. I was his third creation, just after Taemon, and I'm here to rid the world of his bloodline so its seed can no longer pollute humanity!" the young woman said. Just as she powered up to strike again, Izumi flung what Heart made for her: a glass needle made from sand the dragon collected from the ground on his way back to her. The needle flew through the blast and stuck the combustion bender in the forehead, stunning her temporarily as Izumi ducked to safety. Izumi kicked the woman in the jaw knocking her unconscious then looked to the dragons and sighed with relief, then regret. "Call Saru," she told Heart "For cleanup". The dragon looked up, bowed its head in understanding and vanished. She went back to Taemon's cell. "Did you hear her?"

"Every word?"

"Is it true?"

"Mrs Feng- I mean- Fire Lord Izumi. You know all I knew about living with Kage Yamakatsu. He had me perform forms for his guests at dinner parties then sent me to my room. I didn't even know about P'li until I read his diaries when I was eighteen, and never did he mention Horuma in those writings." Taemon replied.

Izumi sighed. If Horuma was telling the truth, where has she been all this time?

* * *

The sound of a fleet of Satomobiles roaring closer replaced the sound of an army of eelhounds coming closer as among the most unpleasant sounds Izumi could hear in the night. She had already checked on Tetsu, Tatsu, and the rest of the inmates in the prison by the time Masaru arrived with her elite guard, some members of the Amber League, Imperial Firebenders, the man slated to take over the next shift for the killed guard, and a couple of police officers and detectives.

"Izumi, I told you to wait! I would have gone with you if you could have just refrained until morning-" Masaru said, pulling Izumi into a bone crushing hug.

"Taemon would have been dead if I had waited," Izumi said, stepping aside revealing the unconscious combustionbender with the needle in her forehead and her two blacked out accomplices.

"She claims to be Horuma, a second ward of Kage Yamakatsu who was younger than P'li and Taemon- She wanted to kill Taemon so that his seed could not pollute humanity with Kage's genetics," Izumi informed Masaru. His face fell.

"Genkei, Tadashi, Please see the Fire Lord back to the Palace-" Masaru ordered, handing Izumi off to her guard.

"What- Saru- no! Don't send me away! I need to know more! Do not exclude me from this investigation."

"You have been out long enough, Zumiya. Go home and get some rest. If you're well enough to be traipsing about the capitol and getting into prison fights, then you can preside over the hearings tomorrow morning! The sooner we get all of this over with the sooner we can move on."

Hiryur and Tadashi had to push her into the backseat of a custom satomobile with a completely insulated back seat that would, in theory, keep the prisoner from burning or incapacitating the driver in any way. She glared out and up at her fiance with a dangerous fury, but he didn't react. He never did. He was one of the only ones who could stand against her- he and two of their sons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A/N Sorry this took soooooo long! Had trouble with the phone calls during the conference and if they should be made during the conference or after the conference and seating and protocol or scrapping that because three (or is it four) of the world leaders are all in the same family by marriage? I don't remember. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter. There are only a couple left! (I think two or three, a trial, a wedding, and a hunt)._


	23. Taking Blame

Izumi sat in her office in her nightgown with her hair down. She had Genkei deliver the files that would be reviewed by the jury, the judge and the international tribunal that had been assembled to deal with the international child-trafficking components of the case. Her heart sunk with every page she turned. Charges included exploitation of private and public resources, local resources, interception and theft of national and international supply lines, obstruction of justice, interference with police activity, maiming, murder, mental and physical abuse… the list went on as Izumi read. She read statements from the seemingly endless list of plaintiffs about how their resources and services were extorted throughout the over a decade long process that began when Taemon received access to his father's estate.

_KAGE!_

Izumi ran her fingers through her hair and looked at the fireplace in her office and glared. She remembered reading Kage's diaries, his fantasies about a free and connected world. She should have burned that diary years ago, Taemon would have never known, never been corrupted by them. She concentrated on the fire in the hearth and grew it until it reached the top of the chimney, then stopped before it sucked all of the oxygen from the room.

She turned in her chair to face the entire set of Fire Nation Laws that she had conveniently shelved in the piece of furniture behind her. Charge...death. Charge... death. Charge… death. Every crime that did not result in a conviction involving death saw a lifetime of imprisonment instead. She slammed the massive legal code shut and leaned her head on it. Why, with all the power in the world, did she always feel so helpless?

There was a knock. "Who is it?" Izumi asked weakly.

"Mother, it's only me. May I enter?" came Sasuke's voice.

"Of course, darling," Izumi replied, replacing the law book on the shelf behind her. "How'd you find my office? I don't think you've ever been in this part of the palace before."

"Father gave me directions. He had a hunch you weren't returning to bed tonight and thought I could help," Sasuke replied with a shrug as he took a seat in the chair across from her.

"There's nothing we can do," Izumi replied. "Nothing that wouldn't be highly unethical, which I simply cannot do."

"Can't or won't do?" Sasuke asked.

Izumi frowned. "I am not like the current Earth Queen. They may be my sons, but they are still Fire Nation Citizens who must abide by the laws of our country. My hands are just as tied."

"Are you sure?"

"You're a lawyer. You probably have the books memorized," Izumi said, glancing over her shoulder at the shelf behind her.

"I do," he confirmed, waiting for a response. When none came, he spoke again. "Mother, why do you want to help them escape death?"

"Because it would be such a waste. I've abhorred the death sentence since the day I could read. This may be a twisted way to think of things, but I think it must take a brilliant mind to plan and execute such large-scale crimes and be able to get away with them for such long periods of time. I feel like… if they had better guidance- if I were there for them- they could have used their brilliance for good. I mean… I want to believe that they meant well, but all of the evidence and their lack of remorse goes against that," Izumi replied, indicating the piles of papers documenting her children's crimes.

"Tetsu and Tatsu were my baby brothers," Sasuke began. "I want to help them too, but I can't. Only you."

"How?" Izumi asked.

"There is a way, but it is risky," Sasuke said.

"Tell me."

"Volume Fourteen. Chapter 30, Article Nine, Section 28," Sasuke said.

Izumi pulled out the heavy, dust-covered book and fanned through the pages. "It's the Rights, Powers, and Limits of the Fire Lord," She realized, looking up at Sasuke.

"Since the entire volume only pertains to one person in the entire country, it's rarely ever taught even in law school. The masses assume the Fire Lord has absolute power-"

"But it's not true, my Father told me that much... because the power lies with the people," Izumi replied, searching for Chapter Thirty… Article 9.

"But still you have far more powers than you think you do, Mother," Sasuke replied. "So many traditions that we think are laws, aren't. They're just… traditions."

Izumi began reading.

"I believe it is sections 28-30 that can be of use to you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep, Mother. You'll need it if you do go through with this, and if you want, I can be beside you. I've decided to accept legitimacy. The association with you will hurt my business but only for a short while. My current clients should know me well enough by now to trust what I do despite the secrets we both have been keeping." Sasuke stood. "Goodnight, Mother."

"Goodnight, Little Love," Izumi replied. "And… thank you."

* * *

Tetsuya woke to the sound of the lock to his cell clicking open without the rustling of keys.

"Just go back to the palace, Mother, before Father gets angry," Tetsuya groaned, closing his eyes again.

"I'm not your mother, dumbass," a girl's voice replied surly.

Tetsuya sat up in surprise and turned to find his 18-year-old baby sister standing outside his cell.

"Yoko!" Tetsuya exclaimed.

"Don't call me that." Miyoko snapped.

"What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you."

"How did you get in here?"

"Easily, but that's hardly relevant."

"Then why are you here? What do you want from me?"

"I want to know how you did it. How did you come so close to beating the formidable Fire Lord Izumi?"

"Why? So you and your little classmates can try to succeed where we failed?"

"No. We're not stupid enough to try to challenge her on a battlefield."

"Then why do you need to know?"

"I want to know your methods so I can decide if your life is worth saving tomorrow. Mother, though much more honorable than Suyin Beifong, is still just a mother when it comes to us. She will try to save you from the punishment you deserve, and I need to know if I should stop her or the judges and jurors from complying."

Tetsuya laughed. "Do you really think you have that much power over our mother and the courts?"

"Knowledge is power, Tetsuya. I know Mother only ever wanted to find peace, both in herself and in her nation. I also know Mother is a staunch believer in the teachings of Avatar Kyoshi. She probably chanted in your youth as well as mine that only justice can bring peace. Now should I remind her of that little saying, or let her proceed?"

"Do you want my death, Miyoko? For hurting your little handler?"

"No. Only justice by whatever means necessary. I know our mother will have difficulty processing what that entails, but the Fire Lord in her will thank you later."

"That's where you're wrong, Yoko. The mother in her will never recover from the loss of another child. She still grovels over the loss of Gansu, to this day. That mother will prevail over the Fire Lord, which will be Takeo soon anyways. Technicalities aside, what do you care of the Fire Lord? I thought you despised her and wanted her gone."

"Gone does not mean dead. The Fire Lord is still our mother and I would not let you kill her."

"I didn't want to either, but she would have died a martyr, a sacrifice for a noble cause-"

"Like Xiaoyu, Huifan, and Me?"

"We didn't want to kill you either. We wanted you to join us. Huifan's strength and adaptability, Xiaoyu's compassion, and your intellect would have been valuable assets to our team."

"So that's all we are to you? Assets? Human capital to exploit? You're a selfish man not worth saving. Thank you for clearing that up in my mind-" Miyoko decided, turning to leave.

"No! Yoko, I didn't mean it like that!"

"You made a mistake targeting me for my intellect, because I could see right through your lies the entire time. Thanks for trying to play the shitty game we call life, dear brother. Unfortunately, you've lost this time-"

"All I've done was for the good of the family. We could have led the next Industrial Age and rebuilt the strength of the Fire Nation—every sacrifice I've made would have benefited us all!"

"You're wrong. Your treatment of those crossovers would have created vengeful monsters who wish for nothing but our deaths, if it hasn't already! You're a disgrace for to our parents, who are already leading the next Industrial Age with Earthen Fire Companies. Get some sleep, Tetsuya. Spirits know you'll need it for tomorrow," Miyoko said, sweeping out of his cell.

* * *

At precisely 10AM the next day, the trial was called to session. Izumi entered the room last to find everyone standing. She bowed to them and they bowed back, still not knowing those being tried were her sons. She sat upon her throne with Sasuke only a few feet away, just off the dais. "Do you know what you are going to say when?" He asked.

"Yes," Izumi replied in a whisper. Sasuke nodded and turned his gaze forward. In the audience were Lin, Xiaoyu, Tenzin, Suyin, Baatar, and Kya on a row with Sunako, Miyoko, and Xiaoyu behind them. All of them along with at least three dozen families of victims of the Rogue operation wanted to speak against Taemon and the twins.

"I, Justice Etsuji Morishita call this court to order!" the judge yelled, banging his gavel. Izumi took a deep breath and closed her hands over her knees. Tatsuya was brought in first.

"We shall now commence the hearing for Tatsuya Lee, born on the 18th of February in the year 146AG, aged 29 years. Charges are as follows: 984 accounts of assault and battery… 23 accounts of premeditated murder-"

"I gave the orders but never killed so many!" Tatsuya yelled.

"Lies!" a young lady in the audience yelled.

"SILENCE!" The chief justice bellowed. Izumi winced. "The hands of a man who gives the orders are no cleaner than the ones of he who swings the sword." He looked down at the paper before him. "- 42 accounts of second-degree assisted murder, 189 accounts of theft, 12 accounts of extortion of public services, 2 accounts of fraud, 9 accounts of money laundering under the guise of charity and countless instances of bloodbending... How do you plead?"

"Innocent of 20 accounts of premeditated, first-degree murder, 40 of the accounts of second-degree murder, all accounts of theft, fraud, and money laundering. Guilty of all accounts of assault and battery, probably more depending on when you started counting for the sake of this trial and of bloodbending," Tatsuya replied.

"But sir, you said you were a firebender-"

"I was both, before I got my bending taken away," Tatsuya said bitterly.

"Bending taken away?" the Justice asked. "By whom?"

"Fire Lord Izumi," Tatsuya replied, looking up at his mother.

"That is Impossible. The Fire Lord—"

"—CAN and did take away his and his accomplices' bending away. Proceed," Izumi interrupted sharply.

The judge cleared his throat and called witnesses to stand. Some couldn't bear to finish their stories. Tatsuya remained, sitting with his eyes closed and fists clenched.

Most testimonies were routine. The only disturbing part was the fact that there were so many.

"How do you feel, Mr. Lee?" a juror asked.

"What sort of a question is that supposed to be?"

"Do you feel anything? Remorse? Regret? Anger?"

"Annoyance. I may be a criminal but I am not ignorant. I have confessed to two accounts of murder, however many charges of assault you've found and numerous other crimes. One murder without the rest is enough to condemn me, so why haven't you? Why bother drawing this out?" Tatsuya asked impatiently. Izumi sighed.

"Even if you did confess to the crime presented here today, we must still assess if you acted on your own accord or if you were coerced-"

"I wasn't coerced in any way. I believed in the cause my brothers pursued. I wanted to deplete the world of all those who seek to inhibit entirely or slow our industrial, societal, and physical progress as a species," Tatsuya recited. The entire room fell silent, and the judge didn't protest, so Tatsuya continued. "We knew we would be dismissed if we three acted alone, so we conscripted those fellow superiors who possessed the same abilities that we did and grew an army to make a stand against the totalitarian regimes that do nothing but place limits on us. We are not advocates for anarchy, but for freedom with limits and for those limits to be regularly reassessed and changed." Tatsuya said.

….

"... they replaced caution with paranoia, love with hate, they tortured children as young as eight, manipulated scores of people they collected into thinking all parents are overbearing and enemies of society. They tried to convince their people that limits were superficial and a direct inhibitor to progress. They started a war with the mindset of a spiteful adolescent!" Miyoko told the judges and the jury. She spoke with the fervor of a true politician. She could sway the minds of tens of thousands of college students across the nation at her organization's rallies. Convincing the courtroom of her brothers' guilt, by comparison, was easy.

Izumi closed her eyes. She heard the anger in her daughter's voice, could see the hate in her eyes as she spoke on behalf of Xiaoyu and Sunako. She recounted the events leading up to Xiaoyu's stabbing and informed the court of how Taemon and Tetsu "unlocked" spiritual projection in the seventeen year old airbender. With anger she recalled how they threatened to make her mother watch her death if she didn't lie for them. Miyoko told them how Sunako came to be maimed, including the exact words spoken by Taemon and Tetsu that night. She told them how Taemon conjured that blood monster to terrify her mother into blaming the only known bloodbender in the room, her best friend and handler, for the plight. Unlike most of the other plaintiffs and witnesses, Miyoko did not breakdown and cry. The judge raised his hand and she fell silent immediately, waiting for a decision. Instead, he called a recess and retreated to a room off the hall while the jurors left to the other.

Xiaoyu sat between Lin Beifong and Tenzin Yeshe. Sunako sat beside Miyoko and Tadashi. Genkei and Huifan stood along the wall. Everyone waited. For some strange reason, they even let Taemon stay in the courtroom during the break, guards flanking. Did they overlook protocol or did they just not care anymore figuring that with so many reknown warriors from all nations, any escape effort would have been futile?

After the judge returned, Tetsu and Tatsu were also brought in and lined up. They'd be sentenced together.

"I, Chief Justice Etsuji Morishita call this session back to order at 13h20," the judge yelled, banging his gavel on the block. "For their crimes against humanity, the jury has unanimously decided that Taemon Yamakatsu, Tetsuya Lee and Tatsuya Lee shall all be sentenced to death by beheading..." the judge announced, raising his gavel. Tatsu leaned his head back with a frustrated sigh while both Tetsu and Taemon accepted their fate.

Before the gavel could crack down on the block, it was blasted apart into splinters from behind. The judge turned around in shock to find the Fire Lord standing with her hand raised towards him and her eyes closed, face turned away.

"My Lord?" The judge asked.

Sasuke drew a deep breath, praying that his mother could stick to the original plan.

"I invoke my right to overrule your decision." Izumi said, her face grim. "As Fire Lord, it is my duty to uphold justice and act in a way that best suits the interest of my nation, which is why I would like to advocate for a sentence of lifetime surveillance and servitude for these three. They will lose all rights of citizenship and become property of the state, providing labor wherever and whenever we see fit. They've proven themselves aware and, quite frankly, they possess some of the most brilliant minds ever seen in this courtroom. Their deaths would be a waste of human potential.

"Their aims were to grant more freedom to the new generation to explore, experiment, strengthen and drive progress our nation. They wanted to reduce the limitations set in our society. All goals are commendable, but they erred in their methodology. I firmly believe that they had good intentions since the beginning and only lacked the necessary guidance and that fault lies with me," Izumi said.

Murmurs broke out in the courtroom.

"What?"

"Why?"

"How could the Fire Lord take blame for these traitors?"

Izumi took a deep breath and opened her eyes, addressing the crowd. "As their _**mother**_ , I made the mistake of not sufficiently fostering their interests and talents. I was smothering, made them feel suffocated, limited, and they lashed out. I failed to satisfy their desire to be heard and single-handedly created the monsters that committed this heinous crimes—"

Every pair of eyes in the courtroom went wide with shock except Masaru's and Sasuke's who closed and Miyoko's who narrowed in anger.

"No—" Tetsuya yelled, pleaded, his voice hoarse with desperation.

"Don't do this!" Tatsu yelled. "Don't sacrifice yourself for our actions. We've already accepted the consequences—"

"Judge, I beg of you, don't listen to her! She's lying—" Taemon yelled.

"She's the Fire Lord— and if says she is your mother and responsible—" the judge shrugged.

"We have no mother—" Tatsuya spat.

"We are the bastards of Earthen Fire and we acted on our own accord!" Tatsuya insisted turning to the executioner, who took up place behind him. "Swing the sword already!"

"Executioners, law down your weapons or you will be the ones burned!" Izumi ordered over them over the outrage in the court, raising a hand, threatening flames.

"SILENCE!" The judge yelled, banging his fist in place of the gavel.

Everyone quieted down. For a few moments, there was silence, then the sound of footsteps on a wooden table.

"FIRE LORD IZUMI!" Miyoko yelled, from upon a table. She bowed with tears in her eyes. "When I was a girl, _my mother_ always insisted that _only justice can bring peace_ … But she's dead to me now."

"Yoko!" Masaru reached for his daughter's arm, but it was gone. The girl ran, leaping off of the table and out the double doors of the courtroom.

"Yoko!" Izumi yelled, sprinting after her daughter while Masaru struggled to get out of the crowded row of chairs.

Miyoko ran out the front doors of the courtroom into a field of waiting reporters, pushing them aside, covering her face and crying eyes as she fought to get away. Her mother wouldn't dare follow her into a crowd and risk exposure especially after claiming three fully convicted traitors as blood.

Izumi threw open the double doors of the courtroom with such a force, that it blew a couple of reporters off their feet, her hands leaving behind small trails of blue flames in their wake.

"Fire Lord Izumi! What is happening?"

"Fire Lord Izumi, has a verdict been reached?"

"Fire Lord Izumi, who are you chasing!"

"Fire Lord Izumi—"

"Fire Lord—"

Izumi ignored them. All she could think of was her daughter— her darling girl— her youngest, smallest baby— the sweetest thing— her world, shattering.

Izumi pushed past the reporters and forced her way through the crowd trying to get to her daughter as her guards desperately tried to restrain her. She launched herself up onto a large man's shoulders and ran lightly across the heads of the civilians below trying to get to her daughter. Miyoko jumped onto the roofs and ran with her arms straight behind her, fully prepared to outrun her mother. Izumi climbed a pole and jumped from it to the rooftops, closing the distance between them quickly.

* * *

Back in the courtroom, chaos reigned. In the confusion some of the families of witnesses and plaintiffs had started crying, terrified by being in the presence of their former captor's without the physical protection of the Fire Lord.

"Miyoko still doubts our intentions," Tatsuya whispered to his brothers.

"She leaving would destroy Mother more than our deaths ever could," Tetsuya replied.

"Tsuya," Taemon hissed. "Go. Change her mind! You're the only one who can. You're the only one who knows her!"

Tetsuya waited until he was certain everyone was too distracted to notice and bent forward lifting his chained hands above his head to his front, rolling his double-jointed shoulders completely and kicked the chain apart and then broke into a run after his mother and sister.

"Hey! Stop!" a prison guard yelled, pursuing the escapee. "We have a runner! I repeat! He's trying to escape!"

"He's not, I swear it!" Taemon yelled for what it was worth.

Masaru finally got out of the row and to Genkei by the wall. "Call Hiryur and Tadashi and the constable. Meet me by the west exit in precisely sixteen seconds! We're going after them but follow my lead!" Masaru ordered.

Genkei nodded and rushed to round up who they needed.

* * *

"Give up on me already. Give up like you did the day I was born! I'm NEVER coming back!" Yoko yelled, breathless and seething with rage.

"I will NEVER give up on you!" Izumi yelled, sending a bolt of dark lightning her way to try to calm her. Miyoko returned it, amplifying the voltage with the intention of causing pain. Izumi dove forward to avoid it as it tore through the roof top. "Yoko please." Izumi begged, bowing to her daughter.

"Why? You gave up on me the moment you shut me away in those walls. I was a fucking CHILD! What type of mother forbid their child from ever even uttering her own mother's name?" Miyoko replied

"They would have killed you!" Izumi replied.

"Only because you would have let them! You're the fucking Fire Lord! You just threatened to barbecue the royal executioners for honorably doing their jobs killing your treacherous sons, but you wouldn't even challenge the Fire Sages for the freedom of your loyal daughters?" Miyoko wiped her face and laughed. "Why am I even surprised? You always did value the boys in our family more than the girls. Just like the Fire Sages and the old conservative nobles. How ironic could it be that maybe, just maybe, Taemon and Tetsu were right about something? You're not interested in progress, only sable routine— tradition if it resulted in peace."

"That's not true, Yoko!"

"Oh, really? Then why are we trying three of our family members for crimes against the nation? Crimes that, had you ever actually given a damn about me, would NEVER have occurred!"

"Yoko, I'm sorry," Izumi sobbed, holding her head down.

"Bullshit! If you were, you would have changed, but you don't. You never do!" Miyoko yelled with tears streaming down her face. "The worst part is, it took me this long to realize you never will."

"Yoko," someone said behind the eighteen-year-old. She whirled around and saw Tetsuya standing on the rooftop behind with both hands up in surrender, broken handcuffs dangling from his wrists. Miyoko raised one hand up to him and one hand to her mother in case either came an inch closer to her.

"They'll kill you for escaping." Miyoko stated, her voice wavering.

"Then so be it," Tetsuya shrugged, looking her directly in her amber eyes with his golden ones. "I was never afraid." he said, stepping away from her. "I have always been loyal to this family and only too willing to make sacrifices for its well being. I have erred and you have every right to be livid, but not at our mother. I never asked her to try to save me. I was ready to accept any consequence the state saw fit, and I think she is insane for intervening. Alas, her decision has been made and cannot be undone. But if it is my death you wanted out of this trial for your friend's maiming, your cousin's sake, and your exploitation, then I shall grant it, but under one condition," Tetsuya said, taking another step back from Miyoko. He kicked a shingle off the back and waited and listened as it fell, bounced, and kept falling. They were on a rooftop, at the edge of the city, right by a drop off over a hundred feet high. "Stay… and take care of our dear Mother for me." He closed his eyes, feeling the wind through his waist-length, jet-black, shining hair and his loose prison garb and sighed.

"Tsuya—" Izumi said warningly.

"She can do without a wayward son, but not without her most beloved daughter," he opened his eyes one last time to take one last glance at his baby sister's face before leaning back, and falling, head first into the void.

"No!"

Without hesitating, Izumi and Miyoko both dove off the rooftop and grabbed his arms, using their bending to propel themselves back up to safety. They landed on the road in a ring of blue fire from Izumi, both overwhelmed. Miyoko and Tetsuya remained kneeling side by side, breathing heavily while Izumi sprung to her feet, pacing with rage. She turned to the children, her eyes practically blazing with fury as her gaze descended on her wayward son. She strode right past her daughter and with her entire body, slapped the son across the face, his jaw cracking slightly out of place.

"You insolent boy! How could you be so stupid!" Izumi shrieked, running her fingers through her hair. It was streaking and then turned completely blue. "How dare you make such an offer! You have erred greatly on your own accord, but pulling a stunt like that would have put your death on your sister's hands! She's just a girl!"

"If it would have kept you two together, then I am willing make that sacrifice! Besides, I'd be doing the world a favor! You heard the courts! I'm a danger-!"

"No more than I am!" Izumi yelled, smacking him again with her other hand.

"Mother! People are starting to gather!" Yoko whimpered, finally noticing the combination of press and Fire Nation Capital denizens encircling them. Izumi looked over her shoulder at the oncoming crowd and snarled before making higher walls out the ring of blue fire to give them more privacy as she continued pacing back and forth seething with rage. Yoko hung her head with guilt. If she had never run, they wouldn't be publicly tainting the family image with such displays of imperfection.

"I'm sorry, Yoko, for putting you in this situation. I didn't mean to—"

"Shut it!" Yoko snapped at her brother.

There was the sound of feet running across the rooftops and Masaru arrived with Genkei, Tadashi, and Hiryur in tow as well as several police officers and the constable. Masaru motioned for them to wait and jumped into Izumi's ring of fire, glancing down at the two children that remained kneeling with their heads bowed before their parents, Yoko sniffling, and Tetsuya still and unreactive.

"What happened here?" Masaru demanded, his voice low.

"Father, I-" Tetsuya began to say nervously, but Masaru lifted a hand to silence him and turned to Izumi.

"He thought that by giving Yoko his live he could satisfy her enough to stay with us foolishly thinking that was what something she even wanted anymore," Izumi spat.

Yoko winced at how cold the words sounded. She didn't wish for his death exactly, only justice. If the courts called for his head, then—

"Father, you must understand, I was and still am willing to make every sacrifice for the betterment of the family, I didn't mean to hurt her or Mother in any way— I was thinking of future generations of-"

 _ **WHACK!**_ The blow echoed off the rooftops and sent Tetsuya from his knees to the ground. Unlike the blows he received from his mother, this one actually hurt. He spat out blood from a busted lip and felt one tooth become a little loose. He would have to have it removed, most likely.

"Don't bother trying to convince us of your benevolence. Hands above your head, boy," Masaru ordered, not looking at Tetsuya. Tetsuya lifted his hands and kneeled again. Izumi turned away and folded her arms, letting Masaru deal with their children for once. She couldn't watch. "Stand." And he stood. Masaru motioned for the police personnel to come down from the rooftops of the buildings that flanked the street, and the car to come closer. Masaru grabbed his son and walked him over to one of the officers.

"How'd you break the chain boy, without your bending?" the police officer asked.

"Platinum or not, bent chain links are weak. I recommend welding them closed at least," Tetsuya replied. It was a shame, truly, for such an intelligent and logical boy to be reduced to a convict in chains.

The policeman frowned and slapped a new pair over Tetsuya's bruised wrists and removed the broken ones.

Masaru wrapped his arms around Izumi and rubbed her shoulders as she cried for her children. He whispered words to her that Yoko couldn't hear, but whatever he said must have calmed her. The blue of her mother's hair darkened with every second that passed until finally, it was black again. Then they turned their attention to her.

"Mother I—" Miyoko began to speak.

"Let me go first." Izumi asked. "Yoko, you are an incredibly intelligent girl with a good heart and a beautiful mind who deserves the world. It was unfair of me to continue to try to keep you here against your will under the guise of protection. I was selfish to keep you for so long, and I am sorry," Izumi drew a breath and squeezed Masaru's hand for support. "You are legally of age and no longer tied to us in any way."

"Mother—"

"So do as you wish. If you want to leave, I will not try to make you stay." Izumi finished. She drew a breath and turned, quickly walking away before more tears fell from her already wet face. Masaru bent down and kissed his daughter on the head, running her fingers through her long dark hair one last time.

"Father I-" Miyoko whimpered, confused.

"You're free to do as you choose, Sweetheart. It was unfair of us to keep trying to chain you. Fly, my little dragon," Masaru whispered before turning and following his fiancée away from the scene.

Miyoko blinked tears away from her face as she remained crouched on the ground, paralyzed by guilt and regret, and fear of something. For so long all she had wanted was freedom. But now? She was a burden all over again, a mistake, and an impediment to her mother's ability to execute her duties. She was a distraction, a pain, an unnecessary extra mouth to feed, a waste of time and space...

"MISS! What just happened?" a reporter demanded.

"Miss, what is your relation to the Fire Lord and Mr. Masaru Lee of Earthen Fire Companies!" another asked.

"Miss! Were you a victim of the escaped convict?" a third inquired.

"Miss, were you at all involved with the recent skirmish?"

"Are you an illegitimate child of them both?"

"Miss-"

"Miss-"

"MISS!"

"Is your name Yoko or is Yoko short for something?"

 _What was happening?_ Her elbows gave way, and she collapsed on her knees and forearms wallowing in pain and grief.

Miyoko panicked. She wasn't supposed to be seen by strangers in this capacity. The childhood fear of the consequences returned. _The Fire Sages! They'll hear of me, take me away, kill me, and destroy my Mother!_ Miyoko looked up. She couldn't see her parents. Only the flashing lights of the cameras that surrounded her.

She screamed with trembling arms and a shaking body, her head and her heart both pounded violently. She became overwhelmed with anxiety and saw her arms and legs become engulfed in green flames.

"MAAAA!" she screamed. The two tendrils that hung from the sides of her face had also become engulfed by the flames but they weren't burning. "MAMA, HELP ME!"

 _What was happening?!_ She was hyperventilating, her arms wrapped around her torso and she rocked, a couple of times. She wiped her face and screamed louder.

"Mother! Don't leave me here! Please! I'll be good! I promise! I won't run! I won't leave! Just please come back to me-"

The photographers and reporters began to move away as the flames grew around her. She looked up and saw their fear-filled faces through a green lens, a green flame. And then she was there, Her mother returned with her arms wide open and her father standing over her, face fraught with concern.

"Shhhh…" Even through the roaring flames, and screaming civilians, Miyoko heard her soft, soothing voice.

Izumi, immune to the flames, wrapped her arms around her daughter and bent lightning to ease some of the pain. Masaru placed a hand on her head and the green fire vanished as Masaru bent his fatherly dragon into her head to seek out her Pain and Fear and attack it. But as soon as he removed his hand, the green flames returned. Both had become too powerful inside of her.

"Breathe, it's only your inner flame," Izumi whispered. "Shhhh... we're here. We'll protect you as long as you want us to, always," Izumi said, rubbing her back, moving to hide her daughter's face from view. Miyoko closed her eyes in the darkness, her head against her mother's chest.

Miyoko grasped the sides of Izumi's coat, pulling herself closer, trying to bury herself in her mother's body. Masaru served as their eyes as they walked to a waiting car. Once inside with the shutters drawn over the window, Izumi let out her inner flame, turning her hair blue and Masaru turned his red.

"You'll always have a home," Izumi said, holding her daughter's hands, stroking her flaming green hair.

"Mother, what's happening?" Miyoko asked panickedly, still seeing green hair.

"You're inner fire is just coming out, darling. It's nothing to be afraid of." Izumi said, trying in vain to be reassuring.

"One of your dragons has overwhelmed the others and can no longer be contained by your spirit alone," Masaru explained.

Miyoko trembled. It was fear. Fear of being seen. Fear of being known, of being vulnerable. Fear of being alone. She remembered the walls, the grates, her first time firebending. She remembered Grandma Mai passing her onto her mother. "You cannot hurt them."

_Oh but I have, Grandma Mai! More than you could know. I was a mistake. I was never supposed to exist in the first place. I was such a late baby that I only ever could be a burden. Doomed from the start—_

She started sobbing even harder as her thoughts ate her alive.

Izumi looked up helplessly at Masaru. She didn't want to go into her daughter's head, but she would have to if her daughter was ever going to breathe again. Masaru nodded in approval. _Do it._

"I won't take anything, I promise," Izumi said, lifting her hands to either side of her daughter's head. The girl looked up with those same sad eyes she had as a young child, and nodded. Izumi touched a hand on either side of her daughter's head and mapped her nervous system. Her brain and followed the synapses being fired, feeling her daughter's memories and which ones were being recalled at that moment.

_She saw herself walking away, saying, "I'm sorry," and fading to black. She saw her first day of school and the bullies who called her the bastard of Earthen Fire Refineries. She saw them suggest Yoko's mother was a harlot or a maid, their laughter and fingers pointed her way. She saw the dragons Ran and Shaw encircling her trembling daughter, dancing with her while she went through the motions of the classical form with tears streaming down from her eyes._

" _She didn't come! She said she wouldn't and didn't! I could have died, Father! I could have died and wouldn't have even been able to yell goodbye because she wasn't here!" Miyoko screamed into his father's chest, distressed as the sun Warriors looked on. One of the female Sun Warriors lifted her hands in the same way Izumi did to Miyoko's Head and with a non-burning flame, soothed her._

_Through Miyoko's eyes the Fire Lord saw a headline for Princess Izumi venturing to the United Republic, striking a deal with somebody. She grabbed the newspaper, paid the vendor and went to a park._

" _So that's where you go?" She spat. "To shake hands with fancy men in fancy coats?" She crumpled the paper, stomped on it and then sat, covering her head in her lap as she cried._

" _Why the long face?" An eerie voice asked from the side. Miyoko looked up and saw some massive ruffian looming over her. She screamed and ran, burning him. He had friends. They chased her in an alleyway._

" _Leave me alone!" Miyoko screamed with her arms outstretched with open palms._

" _After we're done with you," the man replied, looking up at the rooftops where more men waited._

_Miyoko closed her eyes and created a sphere of green and blue fire shielding herself from them. They were open again all they saw were the charred remains of the gang. She fled the scene, sat in silence at the dinner table alone as the reporter on the radio talked about the police finding over a dozen bodies burned beyond recognition in an alleyway surrounding a completely unscathed piece of pavement where they suspected was where a very powerful firebender had been very angry. She cried once again. This time, not even Father was home to comfort her._

_Miyoko went to her club meetings, made a friend to whom she felt like she could tell everything. Those distracted her for a time, but then Izumi saw more headlines and more burning papers as the child's hate for the Fire Princess grew and grew with the longing for her mother._

" _Maybe they were right. I'm not hers. Maybe she's lying like every other time before..." Miyoko thought as she worked on her essay about the Politics of the Fire Princess just as Izumi entered the room behind her and she turned._

" _Why would I risk my reputation, my family's name, trying to make up for lost time if you weren't mine?" Izumi asked._

_Yoko's cheeks burned. She must always consider Mother's reputation._

_And for a night, they were a family again. But then... the Princess became the Fire Lord and Miyoko lost her again. She sat alone, waiting to eat dinner._

" _Sunako, join me. Neither will come," she said sadly. All of her memories with Sunako playing pai sho, attending symphonies, sword fighting, learning some stringed instrument together. Learning to play the tsungi horn. Walking through the palace gardens. "I have to go prepare my reports."_

" _If you see my mother, tell her I miss her," Miyoko asked her handler. That night while Sunako and Miyoko slept, Taemon and the twins invaded. Izumi saw her daughter dive into the grates. Then more blackness, more dinners alone. She was still just a child and all she'd ever known was being alone. Even when she had friends at school, she could tell them nothing._

No wonder her inner fire broke free. Her spirit could not bear any more grief. She said she wanted to leave because she felt betrayed. She wanted attention, to be noticed again and seeing both parents accept that and walk away that day, gave the Fear the last of her energy to explode.

When Izumi opened her eyes, she saw her daughter perfectly still, and felt her husband's hand on her shoulder. He had been watching too, through her. He was crying too.

"How can we ever make it up to you?" Izumi asked with tears dripping from her pointed chin.

"I'm not sure you can," Miyoko replied, laying her mother's head in her lap and closing her eyes.

Izumi bent over her daughter. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Back at the palace, Masaru sent away the guards and helped his fiancée and daughter to the Fire Lord's Room.

"You sleep with Yoko. I'll probably be late anyways and don't want to wake you in the night," Masaru told Izumi, for Yoko's sake. Izumi was a heavy sleeper and he never did wake her when he came to bed late or left early. She nodded and set about taking down her daughter's hair for bed despite it being early afternoon. She knew the girl would be drained. One's inner fire was all consuming.

* * *

Masaru found his free children gathered in one of the royal parlors without all of their cousins, aunts and uncles.

"What happened out there?" Ursa asked.

"We heard rumors but of course, we never trust them," Iroh added.

"Yoko's inner fire came out," Masaru informed all of them as he collapsed on the couch nearest to the hearth. His anxiety fueled the already roaring fire.

"Is she okay?" Ursa asked.

"Did it hurt her?" Takeo inquired.

"Hopefully not as much as her memories," Masaru said, combing his flaming red hair with his fingers. "But I guess we'll find out in the morning." Masaru let out a heavy sigh and released his six dragons. He too was done hiding. The children all stiffened as the dragons took up camp around the parlor. "You can touch them. They won't burn as long as I don't tell them to. They should be warm, like bathwater."

"How's Mum?" Rikuto asked, sticking a hand curiously into his father's dragon nearby him. It raised an annoyed brow at the earthbender.

"I told your mother to sleep with Yoko tonight. Hopefully her presence can calm her down at least a little."

"Uncle, did she actually grow up in the walls of the palace?" Iroh asked.

"She had to. We saw no other way to hide her," Masaru replied.

Ursa sighed and looked into the fire. "It is such a terrible fate to condemn a child to."

"We didn't want to make the same mistake we made with you. Watching the instructors at the Royal Academy abuse you was torture to us. We couldn't bear the thought of subjecting Yoko to the same fate," Masaru explained.

"But I escaped. I ran and traveled and made discoveries. I was still alone, like Yoko, but at least I saw people. I wasn't just trapped with my own thoughts behind the metal fixings in the wall, treated like I was worth less than mouse-rats that are never to be heard or seen."

"The Fire Sages wanted her head ever since they found out about her," Masaru replied. "Claimed she was even a bigger, darker stain on the family tree than our first five children combined. I'm sure it didn't help that she was the only illegitimate girl, and born frighteningly small."

"She must have been so lonely," Ursa cried.

"Is Tetsuya alive at least? We saw him running after Ma and Yoko," Rikuto asked.

"He should be with Taemon and Tatsu back at the prison," Masaru replied. "He offered his death to Yoko in exchange for a promise that she'd stay with your mother."

"Spirits!"

"'Willing to make sacrifices for the good of the family' my ass, where did we go wrong shaping his perception of what exactly are acceptable sacrifices?" Masaru asked, running his hands through his hair again, thinking back to every interaction he had with each of his children throughout the years.

"Do you want to talk about it, Father?" Takeo offered.

"I don't know anymore," Masaru replied. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold in his tears, only to find himself failing.

* * *

The next morning Masaru went to check on his ladies. Both were still asleep, Yoko wrapped up in Izumi's arms. Both of their hair was still glowing. Masaru placed a hand on each of their heads and reached for their dragons to manually calm them down. Their hair both dimmed, and faded to black. They let out a mirrored sigh and relaxed. Izumi pulled Yoko tighter and Yoko curled up smaller. He left them to continue sleeping.

"It has been over a day, Father," Sasuke said.

"I know. Inner Fire drains," Masaru replied. "Don't worry. They're just recovering. They'll be back with us soon enough."

* * *

Izumi woke first but remained by her daughter's side, stroking her temple soothingly.

"You're still here," Yoko mumbled grumpily, frowning upon feeling her mother's fingertips.

"And you're still surly," Izumi replied with a smirk, tucking her daughter's hair behind her ear and away from her beautiful heart-shaped face.

"Can't you leave now that you know I'm not dead?" Miyoko asked expectantly. "Since there's still the trial—"

"No. Yoko, I will never leave you, not unless you truly want me to," Izumi replied.

"Never?" Yoko replied cautiously.

"Can I show you something?" Izumi asked, looking down at the top of her youngest child's head.

"What is it?" Miyoko asked.

"What I see every time I look at you," Izumi replied, taking Miyoko's hand in hers and holding it up to her own head.

_Miyoko saw her own birth. Her father getting thrown through the window off of Eiko's head. Their love, their fear. Grandfather Zuko suggesting they not name her until they were sure she'd survive. She was so small, so fragile, but her mother gripped her tighter. "She's MINE!" Izumi yelled at them, shielding Miyoko from Zuko, from Mai, even from Masaru when he expressed concern for her baby._

_In flashes through her mother's eyes, Miyoko saw Izumi being wedded to Hisoki. The birth of Gansu— "Where is he?"— she asked when she came to._

" _He didn't make it," the healer said._

" _This is all your fault!" Hisoki yelled. Izumi jumped out of bed, pain searing through her torso._

" _He's gone," Zuko informed the family._

_Izumi crawling up the leeward slipface of a sand dune with anger and hate boiling up inside of her, fueling this desire to kill._

" _Hisoki," she whispered. "Where are you!" She screamed as the blue flames erupted from her hands, and then the rest of her body as the hate and rage turned to fear and pain. I'm going to die here._

_Reuniting with her son, Iroh, reuniting with Masaru- holding Takeo and seeing Iroh talk to Masaru - Rikuto crying over being an earth bender. The love for each of her children was always there._

_Tetsuya presenting Izumi with a paper turtle duck. Ursa being born, Ursa running, laughing. The Fire Sages taking her._

" _I won't let you abuse her as you have abused me!" Izumi yelled, referring to the young princess. The tournament, getting brutally thrown down by Masaru. Them arguing afterwards._

" _It was the only way I could protect her!" Masaru yelled at her. Masaru being stern with Ursa then teaching her how to act and how to roar and him making her laugh._

_Izumi tending her cuts and bruises after Masaru beat her in the tournament. The Fire Sages taking Ursa anyways._

" _Where is she?"_

_The throne room bursting into flames._

_Izumi holding an infant Miyoko again. "I lost one daughter. I will not lose another." Izumi talking to Nikoro. Miyoko's first firebending teacher after her mother. "singe a hair on her tiny head and I will not hesitate to destroy you."_

" _Yoko has no mother in her school papers." Masaru said when Izumi decided to stay, to try to spend more time with their troubled baby._

" _Call me your concubine. I don't care," Izumi said._

" _Yoko-" she breathed as she watched Miyoko say goodbye to Kami and walk over. She held a hand back, refraining from just grabbing the girl and enveloping her._

_Miyoko could feel her mother's pain, fear, and love. And she could feel her mother's constant struggle to find balance outside and in._

_Izumi saw the hate in the child's eyes and it crushed her heart and soul but still, she didn't show it as she walked into the classroom._

_Later that evening or the next night, Izumi was kneeling with her head to the floor and Miyoko heard her own childish voice condescendingly saying, "I know my place in my nation, it's time you knew yours."_

_Izumi cried alone in her room. She paced. She screamed in the shower. She pulled at her hair, then she knelt before her father. "I need this. She needs this. Let me go for a time and come back later, or try to stop me, and never see me again. Anything for_ _**her** _ _."_

_Izumi checking on Yoko while she sleeps. Almost every night spent crying to Masaru._

" _I still can't do anything right..."_

_Then, what Izumi saw the night of the attempted kidnapping. My child, covered in blood. She'll carry these traumas for life, unless I— and then taking her memories._

_And then once Miyoko was safely with Masaru, Izumi going to visit Sunako._

_She couldn't talk or bend. Izumi held her and guided her into the spirit world where Sunako had a voice again._

" _Sunako, how can I ever repay you?"_

" _Give me another chance. Water is the element of change. I can adapt my bending to suit my handicap. I can protect Yoko again. Please!"_

_Izumi took a deep breath and looked at the young waterbender as they stood together in the field of purple poppies under an orange sky. "You were her only friend..."_

" _And She was mine. We were like sisters, My Lord, please, let me come back!"_ " _I will. I promise." Izumi holding Sunako with shaking hands. Sunako leaving to the South Pole. Anatomy sketches of human hands, hundreds of them. She got a room at one of Earthen Fire's refineries._ " _I need wires." Wrong conductivity... poisonous... heavy, and then a hand._ " _My love, you need sleep," Masaru said, wrapping his arms around Izumi. She pushed him away. She worked on the hands, packed them in velvet. "I'll be gone a week," she told Masaru and flew to an island and got help from a dragon. Then came back. She saw her daughter go to school, attending every music performance but leaving early for work. But she always came._

_Izumi attended Miyoko's secondary school graduation, went undercover, read newspaper articles featuring her favorite little dissident. Izumi even infiltrated some of the college rallies, watching proudly as her daughter rallied hundreds to her cause._

"That is—" Miyoko asked.

"What I see every time I look at you, or think of you," Izumi replied. "I see your life, my life, the times we hurt and the times we celebrate. I see hope in you, hope for change. I see you doing everything I've wanted to do. I see you questioning all that is around you, challenging the state, your nation. I see you standing up to me. I thought what I saw was you being free."

"You were always there. You came to my recitals. Even the rallies where I spoke against you."

"I tried to if they were close, even if I couldn't stay the whole time."

"You helped Sunako too, with the hands."

"I tried. I'm still refining the design. I want them to be perfect for her, to last forever, to make up for lost time."

"How come I never knew? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to burden you with all of my challenges while you were so busy doing what you loved."

* * *

Masaru came to find the love of his life and their daughter whispering. She stroking the girl's head, just like she did when Yoko was just a baby. She noticed him then ignored him quickly for their girl's sake. He brought a pot of tea and three cups.

"Father came. I can feel him behind me," Miyoko said. "It's strange."

"What is?"

"For my bending to be so damn sensitive," Miyoko replied, rolling over to look up at her father. "It's like being able to see without seismic sense via the-"

"Electricity being conducted by his nerves?" Izumi asked with a smile.

"Yes," Miyoko confirmed.

Masaru reached out and felt her head. She was cooling, slowly.

"How are you feeling, sweet girl?" He asked.

Miyoko shrugged. "Alive, I guess. Am I still on Fire?"

He showed her her black hair. "Nope," he replied.

She sat up and rubbed her head. Why was she still so tired?

"Drink," Masaru said, pouring her a cup of tea, heating it, and sitting on the bed.

"How is everybody?" Izumi asked, accepting a cup.

"Well enough."

"Father, that's so descriptive," Miyoko muttered sarcastically. Masaru winked at her.

Izumi set down her cup after a few sips and laid back down. "How long did we sleep?"

"How long were you talking?" Masaru asked.

"An hour, maybe?" Izumi replied.

"About 31 hours," Masaru replied.

"Not bad," Izumi said, handing her cup back for more. She moved her daughter's hair behind her shoulder and stroked her jaw and neck.

"Mother, what is it like to have a child?" Miyoko asked.

"It's like having a piece of your soul ripped from your body and placed in this little mobile thing that never does stop running out into the middle of a busy street. It's terrifying," Izumi replied, combing her girl's hair with her fingers.

"And Father, is it different for you?" Miyoko asked.

"A little. I still care for you all, but for some reason, I am never as afraid as your mother for you. I knew you'd come home safe, while she was appalled I let you stay at school so late. I think fathers worry less about their children and innately have more trust in what they've taught them," Masaru replied, reaching out to place hand on Miyoko's shoulder.

* * *

That night, Iroh, Ursa, Takeo, Rikuto, Sasuke, and Miyoko all found themselves lounging around in one of the many parlors within the Royal Quarters of the Palace with Izumi and Masaru.

"Mother, don't you have somewhere to be?" Miyoko asked quietly as she sat farthest from the Fire, an icy blanket slung over her shoulders.

"Yes. Right here, with all of you."

"But isn't the Nation is in the midst of a crisis? I mean, we just found hundreds of missing persons, and cover-ups of organized crime and insurrection have just been revealed to the public. Shouldn't you all be more concerned?" Takeo asked.

"To deal with all that WITHOUT resorting to burning down the nation, I need a level head. And to have a level head, I need reassurance that my family is safe. Surely you understand that, Takeo?" Izumi replied, twirling her finger around the tail of one of her smaller dragons.

"But who will rule in your absence?"

"Grandfather Zuko, with Master Katara by his side. And when he's regent he never does like me to return very quickly. Cares for me a little too much I think. Sometimes forgets that I'm not still a child," Izumi said, yanking the tail of her Happiness. It squealed and the fire in the hearth turned blue and flared.

"Zumi!" Masaru hissed. "You're losing yourself again."

"Sorry," Izumi let go of the dragon completely and opened her hand, palm up. It growled at her, crawled into her palm reluctantly and vanished.

"Mother, I'm sorry for running," Miyoko said after long silence. "For taking time away from your duties and for causing a public disturbance with my—" she glanced at her black hair and saw it streak green for an instant. "—Fire."

"Don't be," Izumi replied. "If it's anyone's fault it's mine. I should have striven to give you—all of you-a better, more stable life. I'm sorry."

"It is no one's fault," Masaru said. "We all do the best we can with what we're given."

"Father, that's called having no self-accountability and results in long term denial-" Sasuke said hugging his knees, sitting by the fire for warmth. "The same denial that caused none of us to believe Taemon and the twins were capable of treason."

"Suke's right," Iroh said. "Maybe this mess is all of our fault."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, we're a family. We should have checked in more with each other, looked out for one another. Handlers are one thing but they're not the same as blood," Iroh said.

"That's not true. Sunako loved me more than any of you ever did," Miyoko replied bitterly, shivering under her ice blanket.

"We didn't know you existed until you were twelve," Rikuto said.

"That's no excuse. You could have visited after—" Miyoko replied.

"I'm sorry," Rikuto replied, shifting uncomfortably.

Yoko froze. She had expected him to protest or deflect. Instead, he accepted. Izumi sat up a bit more. Masaru's head turned, intrigued.

"I could have, but I was a coward. I feared for my family. I was born an earthbender to the Fire Lord. I didn't want to risk exposing my father as a 'filthy half breed' in this circle of conservatives and social elites. Everyone knew him as Masaru Lee, CEO of Earthen Fire Refineries. Nobody knew he was the son of Satoru Lee and Toph Beifong. They kept their son a secret, fearing he'd become a target for ransom. There are a million Lees in the Fire Nation; our father could have come from any of them.

"On top of that, I feared for my mother. If people found out I were an earthbender, they'd start prying. Might even break into our home and though our mother hid under the alias Ziyuan Feng, signs of the presence of royalty are littered all over the Earthen Fire Estate.

"Lastly, I feared for my siblings. I'm the second son—of my father, at least. Sorry Iroh, sometimes I forget you're still blood."

"No worries. We've been apart for so long."

"Discovery would no doubt have lead to our immediate demise. It took a long time for Ma to lessen the people's support of the Fire Sages' presence in the court before she could oust them without risk of mass revolt. I left when I was fifteen with Grandma Toph after one of her visits and when I wasn't hunting, I sat with her on the roots of the banyan tree and watched you all from afar. You're all rather infuriatingly good little actors, always trying not to be a burden on each other. I couldn't tell just how hurt you all were," Rikuto said. "There. I acknowledge my part. What's yours?"

"You really had so little faith that I could protect you from the Sages?" Izumi asked incredulously.

"Yes. They could leave you inconsolable for weeks with a single sentence!" Rikuto replied.

"Never again," Izumi decided, standing abruptly and turning to leave.

"Zumi!" Masaru went after her.

"Mum! You're not going to kill them!" Iroh yelled jumping in front of the door.

"No, I'm not. I'm going to finish writing that speech. You're right, Kuto. My weakness has enabled the Fire Sages and council too much power. If they want a strong Fire Nation, they shall have it, but the Fire Nation cannot be strong without cooperation with the other nations. None of you should be afraid to come home or be seen with us. Not anymore," Izumi decided. Iroh remained blocking her way, contemplating his mother's words.

"Can we help — with the speech or—," Ursa asked.

"We may be your children, but we've all learned much about how the people think in our travels and experiences. Use us, mother. Let us help you; stop trying to do everything alone. It has only destroyed you." Miyoko added.

Izumi thought for a moment. "Alright. I'll bring it here," she decided.

Then until midnight, Masaru watched as they all huddled around the table, passing the parchment around, checking and rechecking that all of their goals and demands had been stated. That Izumi's power was defined clearly and that there was no room for misinterpretation.

"What will you wear?" Ursa asked.

"My new costume." Izumi replied. "How about all of you?"

"United Forces Army Uniform," Iroh replied.

"Fire Nation Army Uniform," Takeo answered.

"I have half the mind to appear naked!" Rikuto exclaimed.

"Ooh gross! Kuto! No!" Ursa exclaimed as the others giggled.

"Then something green most likely. I'm not good at pre-planning my wardrobe for the next day," Rikuto replied with a shrug and a smile.

"Ursa?"

"I don't know,"

"Yoko?"

"Mother, can I borrow something from your closet?" Miyoko asked.

"Mine?" Izumi verified. Her younger daughter nodded. "Always!"

"Can I too, then?" Ursa asked.

"Sure. You can pick now or in the morning. Now we should all get some sleep," Izumi said. She went around the table kissing each of her children on the head.

"Can we stay up a little while longer?"

"You don't have to ask me that, you're all responsible adults. Have fun with each other, loves. Thank you for lighting my way in the darkness," Izumi said, pausing at the door with her hand in Saru's.

"Yoko, will you be okay tonight, on your own?" Masaru asked.

Miyoko nodded uncertainly but before Izumi could say anything, Ursa chipped in. "You can come sleep with me. I know I'm not as powerful as Mom but I can still handle a little flame if anything does happen. We can bond over our mutual detestation of the Fire Sages and our love for Mom's secret wardrobe before we go to sleep. What do you think?"

"Sure. I'd like that, just you and me without all of the cousins yapping until morning," Miyoko smiled.

Their brothers and parents laughed.

"Why do you and Iroh call Mother Mom?" Sasuke asked.

"Why do you all call Ma Mother?" Rikuto asked.

"It sounds more respectful." Sasuke replied.

"It sounds stiff and boring and old!" Ursa argued.

Izumi giggled quietly. She never did notice some call her one thing and not the other. She always just appreciated still being called.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I did mention that 22 was the only thing keeping me from finishing this thing... It was mostly true. I still have to fix the wedding. And then I forgot I was sitting on this: Taking Blame chapter... 
> 
> :))) Hope you haven't given up on this story (or on Izumi) (next chapter in a few days... weeks? ... I have four finals this week and a new job starting... EEK)
> 
> anyways, love and hugs!
> 
> \- zhenyi
> 
> p.s. sorry if the ending is a bit shaky.I didn't know if I should end with Zumi and Yoko going down, or waking up. But them waking up wouldn't have made a good start to the next chapter either since it's about... you'll find out soon enough. Aaaanyways, it ended up thrown here. Hope it isn't too too bad. As always, all feedback is greatly appreciated.


	24. The Pledge

The skies were clear and the sun already high by 9AM that spring morning. Izumi woke before Masaru for probably the first time in at least five decades and delved into her closet to designate a section of clothes she was sure her daughters would fit nicely. It took great effort to restrain herself from outright choosing for them. She had to admit, she did have a rather nice collection of gowns. Not that she never appreciated wearing them, of course. She was always too annoyed by the restricting corsets and her ridiculous schedule to even think about what she was wearing.   


“My Lord, I am sure that you’ve already set aside plenty of options for your girls,” Iliana commented, entering Izumi’s closet finding the Fire Lord still mulling over the selection she’d laid out.   


“It’s still never enough,” Izumi whispered before looking up to her beloved maid. “Did you find a full-length mirror?”   


“It is being brought in as we speak,” Iliana replied, motioning to two servants carrying the beautifully ornate and heavy standalone piece into the Fire Lord’s closet.   


“Thank you very much,” Izumi said, bowing to the servants. They bowed back and left.   


“Did Mr. Lee have mirrors for you at the Earthen Fire Estate?” Iliana asked, rounding the bench to stand beside her charge.   


“He did in the children’s bathrooms, but not never. My Mother forbade it,” Izumi replied.   


“Her power reached beyond the Palace, it seems.” Iliana noted, placing her hands on Izumi’s shoulders as the Fire Lord looked at herself for the first time in a long time.

“Naturally. She was the Fire Lady after all— and the first to earn her title any authority. Her power reached the entire country,” Izumi reminded her maid. 

“Ah, but of course! It was quite a time of change!” Iliana sighed nostalgically. 

“Iliana, may I ask you a question?” Izumi asked, sitting on a crimson and velvet chair in her expansive closet. 

“Yes, My Lord?” 

“Am I really so resistant to change?” She clasped her fingers together, balanced her elbows on her knees. It was a position not at all befitting for a woman of her stature, but she was increasingly losing care for formalities if that care wasn’t low enough already.

“How do you mean?” 

“Yoko mentioned something yesterday, about me not actually being interested in progress but routine, for the sake of peace and stability, and I wanted to know, what do you think,” Izumi explained. “Is she right?”

“I think that Miyoko was incredibly hurt and angry yesterday and probably said a lot of things she didn’t mean--” 

“She is never not genuine. Disregard her emotional state and answer my question. Have my actions and choices during my reign made any progress towards creating a more accepting and internationally cooperative nation, or have they been exactly the same as the Fire Lords before me?” 

“I think that you have made many decisions that differentiate you from previous Fire Lords. While they do move the nation towards your vision, the progress is slow and barely noticeable to most--” 

“I didn’t want to incite panic!” Izumi cried defensively, throwing her head back in frustration.

Iliana grabbed her charge’s shoulders and stilled her before she could injure her own neck thrashing. “My Lord, restrain yourself. In all honesty, I believe you could afford to up the ante. You don’t need to be as cautious now that people are used to you and your rule, my Lord.” 

“Thank you, Iliana.” Izumi placed a hand on the maid’s wrist. 

“Any time, My Lord.” 

“Zumiya!” Saru yelled, throwing off the covers and leaping out of bed frantically. 

“Here!” Izumi ran out of her closet. 

Masaru let out a sigh of relief. “You haven’t woken before me since we were seven. I was worried you might have gone on a midnight stroll and not returned or something,” Masaru said, kissing her passionately. 

“I’m sorry for frightening you. I just happened to wake earlier than usual. I would have gone back to bed but the excitement about today was too great.” 

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Masaru replied, resting his chin on her forehead and gently combing her hair with his hand.

“Ma?”

“Mother?” 

Both Saru and Izumi turned to find Miyoko and Ursa at the door. “I’ll leave you girls to it,” he said, grabbing his clothes off of a chair and leaving to a secondary chamber, kissing both Ursa and Miyoko on the head on his way out. 

“You’re still not dressed?” Ursa asked, giggling noticing her mother still in her underclothes. 

Izumi looked out the window. “I’m not usually up until nine, if you would believe it. Gave Saru a heart attack; he thought I was missing when he woke to find the other side of the bed empty.”

Both girls laughed. “You guys really are so cute together!” 

“You think so?” Izumi asked, leading them into her closet. “Iliana also unearthed a mirror for you two. I made some pre-selections that I know will fit but if you don’t like any of them, this section should also be accommodating in terms of size,” Izumi said, indicating a few sections of racks of gowns. “In the meantime, I have a new uniform.” Izumi took off her robes and picked up a deep burgundy leotard with long sleeves. In quick succession she pulled on a pair of thin, long nylon socks, dark pants, knee high boots, and coat. Finally, she opened her favorite drawer of her favorite dresser and pulled out her leather gauntlets, already filled with stilettos. 

“That was fast,” Ursa said. Izumi looked up and noticed both girls staring at her.

“I know! Isn’t it great?” she asked, smiling smugly. No more painful corsets that had to be laced in two twenty-minute sessions, no more heavy ceremonial armor, no more dragging skirts and cumbersome sleeves. Hers stopped just above her elbow so everyone could see just how armes to the teeth she really was. “They called me ‘Armadillo Lion’ in the Army.” 

“I didn’t know you ever served in the army!” Ursa exclaimed. 

Miyoko raised a skeptical brow. “I thought you weren’t allowed to since heirs and spares were your primary purpose.” 

“Search the books for Ziyuan Feng. And try bring up heirs and spares with my dear aunt Azula. I have her to thank for many things,” Izumi replied, absentmindedly checking her hair in the mirror, before turning her attention to her daughters dressing. 

“Mama, shouldn’t you be reviewing the speech we made last night?” Ursa asked. 

“Yes, but I’d rather watch you two instead. You’re much more interesting to me!” Izumi claimed taking a seat. 

“That sounds kind of creepy,” Miyoko mumbled as she chose a simpler robe with no collar or sleeves, then moving to her one of her mother’s jewelry boxes for a gold necklace.   


Izumi scoffed and rolled her eyes while Ursa laughed. “How did you both sleep?”   


“Better without the air babies yapping all night,” Miyoko replied. 

“Oh please! You know you like them!” Ursa insisted.

“I do like them, just not their incessant need to always fill perfectly good silence!” Miyoko replied.   


“Maybe it’s just their culture-”   


“To constantly be airbending out of every orifice when not using their hands or feet?” Miyoko asked. 

“Okay, Yoko, enough criticizing the Air Babies! They’re goofy little children, just like you were once!”

“For maybe a day before I wisened up,” Miyoko replied, trying on a necklace. 

Izumi sighed and decided not to keep pestering. 

* * *

Takeo, and Rikuto decided to join Izumi on stage. They would stand behind her, in the background, but nonetheless acknowledge their association with her so the press would get used to them being together until they could be legitimized. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Miyoko decided to continue to enjoy their privacy and maintain their relative anonymity. 

Genkei walked out first followed by Sunako, Tadashi, and Hiryur. 

Sunako hung a canvas banner on the stage for the photographs, then bent a whole pot of ink and water together. She let the black and blue inks mix and separate, then splattered the black onto the canvas, printing the title of the speech Izumi would give in just a few minutes time. 

**_The Pledge_ **

**_Fire Lord Izumi Ido 15日3月175年_ **

Over 10,000 military personnel were in attendance, flanking the main square outside the palace. In the main square, over 50,000 civilians gathered to get a glimpse of their Fire Lord and hopefully learn about what that giant flaming figure was that they saw a few days ago. 

“Please welcome your Fire Lord, IZUMI!” Genkei announced. Izumi walked out to the center of the stage, followed by her three sons who stood off to one side. Tadashi dipped into a horse stance and slammed his foot onto the ground lifting Izumi up above everybody. Hiryur bent a ring of Fire, then passed it to Izumi, who used it to light every torch in the massive square, including the farthest over a quarter mile away from the stage. 

“I would like to speak to you today about the illusion of separation. The borders that exist between us and the other four nations are not meant to divide us, but to organize us into factions of those with similar circumstances, values, and needs. Within these factions, leaders who can better understand the needs of those under their jurisdiction strive to aid their people as they see fit. 

“Seventy-five years ago, my father, Fire Lord Zuko, began an era of peace in the Fire Nation. With the Avatar and their friends, they expanded that peace beyond our borders to the rest of world. Now, we are ALL one people united not under one banner flying high, or one person up on some dias, but as one species that wants to survive. We all need each other to thrive as we race into the future. Regardless of ethnicity, age, and ability, every single one of us have our part to play in this game of life. 

“Still, some of our own seem to have forgotten this and have resorted to killing in a futile attempt to obtain a power that should not be wielded by anyone but the Avatar. The network of training grounds used by these traitors as a breeding ground for special benders has been uncovered and dismantled. The children that were kidnapped to form this army have all received medical evaluation and are in the process of being returned to living family members. Those without, will become wards of the Palace. The three core leaders of this operation have all been stripped of their bending. They no longer pose any threat to the status of our great nation have been sentenced to a life of labor directly serving any government sector where labor is needed.

“Now that they’ve been dealt with their leaders incapacitated and imprisoned, I would like to address any person or entity that seeks to disrupt the delicate balance we have so painstakingly worked to establish and maintain in the last seventy-five years. Be warned that any treasonous acts or insurrection in any country shall provoke the wrath of the Grand Master of the Air Nomads, the Chieftains of the Northern and Southern Water Tribe, the Earth Queen AND the Fire Lord combined. 

“Together, we will triumph over injustice and tyranny.” 

Izumi opened both hands with her palms facing up towards the sky. She took a deep breath and without even blinking, released her inner fire. Blue flames sprouting from her head and hands engulfed first her body, then expanded, forming into a standing likeness of herself. 

It fully materialized, and Izumi lowered her hands. She curled her fingers into fists and blasted herself up into the air to its chest level, still with the microphone on. She tore it off of her collar and disintegrated it, scattering the ashes to the wind, and then through the fire, in a voice that could be heard from as far as Republic City, she added: 

“Lastly, I would like to announce that I am DONE apologizing for the crimes of my ancestors. I am not Sozin or Azulon or Ozai. I am Fire Lord Izumi, daughter of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai, and I shall dedicate the remainder of my life to maintaining that peace that my father, Avatar Aang, and their friends helped to create. Anyone who thinks they can stop me, will be burned.” 

_ Damn, Mommy, _ Rikuto thought, folding his arms and leaning on one foot. 

“Hey!” Takeo whispered to remind him to stand straight. 

“What? I’m not in an army,” Rikuto shrugged. Izumi dissipated the massive flaming version of herself and landed on a balcony. 

Genkei took over the rest of the announcements, debriefing the people of the last week’s events, the investigation on the outer isles, the Rogues targeting young members of the family, the rescue mission that turned into a battle, the capture and trial of the three leaders of the operation as well as the loss of their bending. 

“And the Fire Lord’s Flames! What was that?” A reporter asked. 

Only then did Genkei look to be at a loss of words. Masaru put Miyoko’s hand in Ursa’s and jumped up on the stage, eliciting gasps from the press, civilians and military personnel. 

“The Fire Lord’s Flames is the physical manifestation of all of her Lordship’s energy. It is a result of her inner fire coming out of her body in a time of dire need. The ability is not new to our nation but is one that has not been seen for tens of thousands of years. It’s bearers are those who understand that Fire is life and that life must be preserved. It is a warm and compassionate entity and not a destructive force unless it’s host desperately needs it to be. Once out, it can act on its own accord, as the Fire Lord’s did when it carried her unconscious body to safety at the end of the battle on Sunday morning,” Masaru informed the crowd. 

“And the girl with the green flames! Who was she?” 

“She will reveal herself when and only if she is ready. If that is all, I wish you all a good day. Regular government sessions will resume Monday,” Masaru announced, handing the microphone back to Genkei before heading back into the palace. 

“I think that’s our cue to retreat,” Ursa said, holding Miyoko’s hands. Sasuke put his arms around them both and nodded to their brothers on stage and lead them towards the palace. 

“The girl with the green hair!” 

“Help me shield her!” Sasuke yelled. Ursa and Sasuke both put their arms around her and acted as her eyes.   


“Who knew the greatest political activist from Ranshao Rikai University would be so damn camera shy?” Ursa laughed once they were safely inside.   


“Do you want her to explode again?” Sasuke asked, frowning at Ursa.   


“I’m so glad you’re alright!” Izumi said as she appeared from around the corner, throwing her arms around the three all at once with Masaru and the oldest three sons running after her.   


“Us? Mom! You just flipped off the world!” Miyoko scolded instantly.   


“I said exactly what was written last night--“ Izumi insisted.   


“--with that added last bit—” Miyoko reminded her.   


“--for emphasis!”   


“Alright, alright, why don’t we all just, calm down,” Rikuto interjected, stepping between them and physically earthbending them apart by the ground beneath their feet.   


After a moment, Miyoko spoke. “Is that it then? You make a speech and then what? What will the other world leaders call you for? And where does that leave the Avatar? Isn’t she supposed to be the world policeman?”   


“She’s probably blowing her girlfriend—“ Izumi replied, folding her arms.   


“Zumi!” Masaru snapped.   


“Ma!” Ursa hissed.   


“Sorry! Maybe we can work together. Sometime soon, I’ll will host a summit either here or in the embassy at Republic City to flesh out the details of that project,” Izumi suggested

“Does this mean you will become even more busy than you already are?” Miyoko asked disappointedly. 

“Hopefully less busy, since I shall set parameters that only allow me to be called in the event of imminent catastrophe,” Izumi replied. 

“Wouldn’t it be easier to tear out a single contaminated plant before it kills the entire crop?” Rikuto asked. 

“Ai! Good point,” Izumi sighed, lifting her hand to her head as her hair streaked blue.    
“None of those things need to be decided immediately. In fact, I think we all need a break,” Masaru said, putting a hand on the back of Izumi’s neck. She tensed at first, then let out a sigh and her hair turned black. She turned to Saru. “We were supposed to marry last Saturday.” 

“Well, shit happens,” Sasuke shrugged. 

“How about we marry tomorrow. I’m sure the country can last a day without us hovering. THEN we can hold the summit and finish cleaning up this mess.” Masaru suggested. 

“So you’re finally going to do it?” Miyoko asked skeptically. 

“Unless you guys don’t want us to,” Izumi said, letting go of Saru’s hand quickly. 

“What?” Masaru asked, shocked. 

“No, we want you to,” Iroh confirmed, putting a hand on his mother’s shoulder. “It’s just been so long that we began to doubt if it would ever happen.” 

Izumi was relieved. 

“You can’t escape me that easily,” Masaru said, pulling the Fire Lord into a rather uncharacteristically aggressive kiss, amusing their children. 

“Mother, will the Earth Queen’s second son be allowed to come?” Takeo asked, deciding against mentioning Taemon and the twins after what happened to Miyoko the day of the trial. 

“Since he is being treated as an invader to the nation, I’ll have to consult my political advisors on what is appropriate. We’ll see,” Izumi replied diplomatically. 

* * *

Izumi led her two of her most trusted League members to the guest chambers where the Beifongs were staying, marching straight into the Earth Queen’s room. 

“I have a gift for you,” she said, stepping aside to reveal Huan walking, unbound and flanked by Izumi’s guards. “He too has been stripped of his bending, and as soon as he leaves the country will be placed on a ten year ban from entering the Fire Nation without explicit, written permission from the Fire Lord.” Izumi informed Suyin, watching the faces of the mother and son closely. Neither looked happy in the slightest to see each other. In a flash, Suyin raised her hand and punched him. His cheek bruised instantly and his lip split, leading Huan to spit out blood and a tooth. Izumi’s eyes narrowed, calculating. Why would little Suyi would do such a thing? 

“How could you?” the founder Zaofu asked of her son. “How could you be so stupid? How could you besmirch our good name with such delinquency?!” 

“Mother, I don’t think it’s called delinquency when the crimes are committed with full awareness by a grown man!” 

“You call yourself a man?” Suyin asked. 

“Well I’m not a child, so what else remains?” Huan asked wearily. 

“You are my child and therefore I will treat you as such!” 

“And how is that supposed to help him learn and grow, exactly?” Izumi asked, stepping in front of her future nephew. 

“What?” Suyin looked up. 

“I thought I was being merciful by releasing him into your care, but if you’re just going to use your son as a punching bag upon which you vent your frustrations, then I WILL keep him in my custody!” Izumi decided. 

“You can’t!” Suyin shrieked with tears streaming down her face. 

“Genkei, Tadashi-“ Izumi called. 

The two men walked over, helped Huan off the floor, and led him to the infirmary to get his lip patched and tooth replaced.

“Have you struck your other children like that?” Izumi asked incredulously, looking at the blank space where Huan stood moments before and the puddle of blood and broken tooth left on the floor.

“Have you?” Suyin retorted challengingly. 

“Only twice. Moments apart. When Tetsuya tried to kill himself thinking it would please his littlest sister, NEVER before. My outburst shocked him and Yoko. They didn’t think I could hit them after a lifetime of what I had hoped was perceived as love and kindness. They thought they were immune— that my love for them would always triumph over my rage— and it has until then when Tsuya needed a reminder of his place. Huan on the other hand, didn’t seem at all surprised by your behavior, as if he saw it as just another day of standard treatment and he was tired of it—”

“I had to do what I had to to make him less weak!” Suyin yelled, turning away and folding her arms like a petulant little girl receiving a lecture. 

“Huan is not weak, he’s smart. Just because he isn’t a stellar athlete like your beloved twins does not mean there is something wrong with him!” Izumi argued. 

“Intellectuals don’t win wars! Strong soldiers do!” 

“Oh really? Then how do you think my Great-Great-Grandfather Sozin managed to win the Battle of Han Tui despite being outnumbered 20-1?” 

“I don’t need a history lesson!” Suyin replied, walking away haughtily. 

“You do if you’re going to remain the Earth Queen!” Izumi replied, blocking the door. Even though Sozin’s army was outnumbered, he cleverly calculated his advantages. The enemy was downwind and there was a drought. Their defenses burned to a crisp in minutes. And who thought of that? The intellectual strategists! Huan is worth no less just because he had no interest in fighting. And whatever you thought you were doing didn’t make him stronger. It didn’t teach him anything but how to distrust everyone, especially those who are supposed to love!”

“How do you know what I did to him?” 

“Because I pay attention to my children and others. I know how they behave—”

“Your children tried to murder you and you never saw it coming!” 

“They still always fought for a good cause at least!” Izumi replied. 

“You can’t actually agree with what they wanted enough to try to defend them!”

“Don’t try to change the subject, Suyi. Did you beat Baatar Junior too? Is that why he was so eager to leave with Kuvira four years ago? Is that why he was so keen to permanently dispose of you during the last Siege Of Republic City—” 

“Don’t say his name!” 

“—Was it because he was your first born and a non-bender? Did you think him weak too?” Izumi asked. 

Suyin screamed and bent a rock out of the floor and launched it at Izumi’s face. She raised a concealed blade and it cut clean through the rock, falling on either side of her hand. Suyin looked over, eyes wide at the shortsword the length of half of the Fire Lord’s arm. She stowed it so quickly that Suyin couldn’t even see or predict where it was hidden. 

“If you weren’t Masaru’s sister, I’d have you imprisoned for what I just saw and what I can interpret by that look on your son’s face, Earth Queen or not. As of tomorrow, your family will officially become my family by law, and if you haven’t noticed,  **_my_ ** family doesn't mind pruning away the branches that pose a threat to the rest of the tree.” 

Suyin frowned but said nothing. Izumi took a step back. “I’ll see you tomorrow at noon for the wedding.” And she left. 

* * *

The room was entirely dark except for the faint glow of Izumi’s Heart and Masaru’s Husband Dragons. Her hand curled around the top of Masaru’s arm as he stroked her cheek ever so smoothly. 

“I worry about Suyin—” Izumi sighed with a heavy sadness. 

“She’ll come to her senses eventually.” Masaru reassured her.

“I’m not so sure about that.” 

“Why?” 

“I know Su. I knew her. You know those scars on Lin’s face? Su gave them to her and never even acknowledged her fault in any way. She just deflects blame.” 

“Well maybe we can help open her eyes. We’ll have a lot more time once you retire.”

“But what if she doesn’t want to be helped--”

“She doesn’t. Even after you’ve abdicated, you will still have the ears of the other world leaders on your side.”

“Do you think she could have beaten Baatar Junior, and maybe even Kuvira?” 

“I feel like my agents would have told me if that were so.”

“What if she found out about your agents, and paid them off or did something to gain their allegiance, like Taemon did to our Amber League?” Izumi asked. 

“Then I guess I need to re-evaluate our hold on the organization. But not tonight, or tomorrow, please. Izumi, we’re getting married! Can you rest for one night? And not worry?” 

“I’ll try.” 

“I’ll remember everything so we can resume this discussion after the wedding. In the meantime, try to clear your mind of your duty.” 

“I will,” Izumi replied, curling into his chest as they lay on the bed. 

“What will you wear tomorrow?” He asked, combing his fingers through her silky hair. 

“I’ll wear whatever you’d like me to wear,” Izumi replied, walking her fingers up his chest. 

“Are you sure that is wise, my Love?”

“Yes, because I trust you,” Izumi replied softly. 

“And what if I told you I’d like you to wear nothing but your birthday suit?” Masaru asked with a devious grin in the moonlight. She looked up at his face, illuminated by the glow of their dragons laying across their pillows. 

“You wouldn’t,” she replied with a chuckle. 

“How do you know?” He asked, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her against him completely. 

“Because I am yours and you are mine, and we swore when we got together that we would only ever be like that for each other’s eyes,” Izumi replied, touching his bottom lip with her thumb. 

“And that is right!” Masaru said, rolling over on top of her kissing her neck. She ran her hands down his muscular back as he made a trail of kisses from her chin to her navel. “Would you wear a corset for me?” 

“I said anything, but I would ask why. I thought you didn’t like seeing me in pain.”

“And you’re right, I don’t like seeing you in pain,” Masaru said, resting his chin on her chest, looking up at her from between her breasts. “But I thought it would be nice if when night comes, I can be the one to permanently relieve you of that abomination. We will make it your last time for forever, and when the ceremony is over, we’ll BURN it, together, just like you’ve always wanted to. We’ll finally be free of those chains that bound us to that past life!” Masaru replied, his hair turning red in his elation. 

Izumi laughed. “You’re usually much more controlled than me when it comes to this sort of thing,” she said, flipping his bangs into his face so he could see. 

He laughed and pushed it away. “Well, time changes people, and things,” he replied, delving into her body. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter was supposed to be this one and include the Pledge, the Wedding, and the Hunt. But the Wedding is taking longer than expected even though the Hunt is done. Well, here is the Pledge! Hope you enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> If you have time, I would love to hear your thoughts on this story and its characters. All feedback and/or criticism is greatly appreciated!
> 
> Happy reading! :)


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